One of the things I really miss about those days was the sense of optimism. We knew computers were getting more powerful, we knew they would change society, I hoped they could help make things better for people everywhere. What we got was lock-in and locked-down hardware, mass-surveillance, ad-driven content farms and the attention economy. There have been positives, but man. What a let-down.

Back in 1975, my dad got a copy of Creative Computing magazine from a colleague, and gave it to me as he knew I talked about computers. I was in heaven reading that mag. I still have it.

In the 80s, I regularly went to B&N to troll the computer mags. They're all gone now.

My hot rod magazines have all disappeared, too. Magazines like "Chrysler Engines". Sigh. The only one left is Hot Rod.

I still subscribe to Linux and Admin magazines, and look forward to getting them. They are nostalgic while still filled with genuinely useful information. There is something categorically different in the experience of sitting down and reading curated articles vs consuming an endless stream of updates. Both are worthwhile, and I’m glad both are options.

Plus, it’s a rare win/win of indulgence and plausible productivity.

https://www.linux-magazine.com/

I grew up pre-internet in the middle of nowhere, more than a mile from the nearest neighbor and 20 miles from anything you could call a town. and we had a somewhat oddball home computer that noone else had at school. Computer magazines were literally my only source of information for my system. I remember checking the mailbox every day and then spending hours reading every word in each new issue. typing in programs, dreaming of owning the fancy upgrades and new hardware.

I love being able to access almost anything instantly, but it kind of reduces my appreciation of everything at the same time

I miss the days of eagerly picking up the latest PCFormat from the cornershop. The guides, the reviews, but mostly the CD running some old Macromedia Shockwave/HTML website with random apps and tools I could never download in the few minutes a day of dial-up time. Wish I’d kept some of my favourite issues.

I remember the ‘90s fondly in this regard. 1000 pages issue of Computer Shopper, the early days of Wired, and so much variety of publications. But especially because after work I wrote dozens of articles for Software Development Magazine and even judged the Jolt Awards a few years.

> Today I almost certainly have more retro computer magazines than you do. By my count, I now have nearly 700 issues of various computer magazines from the 70s, 80s and 90s!

I have nearly 200 issues just of PC Magazine. If I toted up the rest, I might have more than you!

I miss those free CD-ROMS on the cover. I consumed so much software in the 1990s that way. I swear I've played the Tomb Raider 2 demo for hours without ever having rented or owned the actual game.

In the 80’s I lived in SE Pennsylvania. In the King of Prussia Mall was Gene’s Books. They had ALL the titles. I worked for a tech company that wanted people to learn things. I wrangled $300 per month budget and a small office that we turned into a tech library. Gene’s was a regular bi-weekly stop to get the lates editions. Computer Shopper was the only magazine that we got 3 of every month.

I love the comments today. I share many of the feelings described here. The question is... can we get that back without time travel?

I'm a technology enthusiast but haven't been blown away by any new hardware in a while.

I wondered if this was age-related, but my kid and his friends don't seem to be too excited either. In fact, he's now into mechanical analog watches and even grabbed my wife's Swatch which she hasn't used in over 10 years!

OP had a commitment to preserving history. Well done.

But no “Nibble”? That was my go to mag for Apple programming. I wish I had saved them like OP!

My father subscribed to monthly computer magazine almost 40 years ago. As a teenager, it was very exciting to unwrap and find out new things to learn every month.

These days I'm so burn out when newsletter or social media site feed me with daily new Javascript frameworks.

From Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCMag>:

>By its third issue PC was square-bound, because it was too thick for saddle-stitch. At first the magazine published new issues every two months, but became monthly as of the August 1982 issue, its fourth. In March 1983 a reader urged the magazine to consider switching to a biweekly schedule because of its thickness. Although the magazine replied to the reader's proposal with "Please say you're kidding about the bi-weekly schedule. Please?", after the December 1983 issue reached 800 pages in size, in 1984 PC began publishing new issues every two weeks, with each about 400 pages in size.

I don't believe BYTE ever reached 800 pages, but it came close. The only other computer magazine I know of that reached >400 pages per issue is ... 80 Micro, in 1982 and a special issue in 1983.[1] The magazine folded in 1988, which tells you just how quickly the TRS-80 market collapsed once the IBM PC (as represented by PC) got going.

[1] The special issue has an editorial titled "There's no end in sight". <https://archive.org/details/80-microcomputing-magazine-1983-...>

I fondly remember when Wired magazine was almost all tech articles, instead of 50% advertisements, and 40% paid content.