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Margot Comstock (formerly Margot Comstock Tommervik, (1940-10-11)October 11, 1940 – October 7, 2022(2022-10-07) (aged 81)^[1]) was co-founder and editor of Softalk magazine, which was influential in the Apple II community, as part of a growing personal computing movement.

Career

Comstock worked as a freelance textbook editor, magazine article writer, and journalist.^[2] She also enjoyed playing games,^[3] and in 1979 she won more than $15,000 on the television game show Password.^[4] She and her husband Allan Tommervik purchased an Apple II+ with some of the money.^[5] She was enthusiastic about trying games and other software for the computer, along with its larger potential for helping people try new things.^[3] They decided to start a magazine for other Apple users, using the rest of the prize money and a second mortgage on their home.^[4]

Softalk

Comstock and Tommervik founded Softalk in 1980.^[2] They got in contact with a company called Softape that distributed Apple II software and had a newsletter, and they arranged to take over the newsletter and develop it into an Apple II enthusiast magazine.^[6] Comstock was 39 at the time.^[7] She set the vision for the magazine as taking a journalistic approach, instead of focusing on programming as other contemporary computer magazines did.^[2] This made the magazine accessible to Apple II users who weren't programmers.^[7] Comstock's work was part of a transition in personal computing around this time, from computers being hobbyist projects to computers getting used by people interested in games and practical applications.^[7]

Comstock and Tommervik published the last issue of Softalk in 1984, because fewer companies were paying for advertising, due to a larger shift in the industry, and they did not have money to print more issues.^[7]

After Softalk

In 1987, a Smithsonian video history project interviewed Comstock alongside people who had published popular software for the Apple II.^[2]

Comstock and Tommervik later published Softline, a game magazine with funding from Ken Williams.^[3] They also published several books, including a Mac book by Doug Clapp.^[8]

Comstock was an associate designer for Rama, an adventure game published in 1996.^[9]

Comstock gave a keynote presentation at KansasFest in 2014.^[10]

References

^ "In Remembrance". KansasFest. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nooney, Laine (2022-10-11). "One of the most important women in Apple's history never worked for Apple". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c Levy, Steven (2010-05-19). Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution – 25th Anniversary Edition. "O'Reilly Media, Inc.". pp. 265–266, 398. ISBN 978-1-4493-9380-9.
^ ^a ^b Watterson, Thomas (1982-07-02). "Personal-computer fans byte into Apple Orchard and a big array of other magazines catering to them". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ Díaz, Gerardo Con (2019-10-22). Software Rights: How Patent Law Transformed Software Development in America. Yale University Press. pp. 181–182. ISBN 978-0-300-24932-3.
^ Weyhrich, Steven (2010-07-02). "20 – Magazines". Apple II History: The Story of the Most Personal Computer. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nooney, Laine; Driscoll, Kevin; Allen, Kera (2020-07-01). "From Programming to Products: Softalk Magazine and the Rise of the Personal Computer User". Information & Culture. 55 (2): 105–129. doi:10.7560/IC55201. ISSN 2164-8034. S2CID 220495006.
^ Clapp, Doug (1984). Macintosh! complete. North Hollywood, CA : Softalk Books. ISBN 978-0-88701-009-5.
^ "Rama for DOS (1996)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
^ "Former Editor of Softtalk Magazine to Keynote Kfest". Call-A.P.P.L.E. February 28, 2014. Retrieved 2022-10-14.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American computer magazine editor}}
-{{AfC submission|t||ts=20221011164001|u=Mattl|ns=118|demo=}}
+'''Margot Comstock''' (formerly '''Margot Comstock Tommervik''', {{Birth date|1940|10|11|mf=yes}} – {{death date and age|2022|10|7|1940|10|11|mf=yes}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-22 |title=In Remembrance |url=https://www.kansasfest.org/remembrance/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=KansasFest |language=en-US}}</ref>) was co-founder and editor of ''[[Softalk]]'' magazine, which was influential in the [[Apple II]] community, as part of a growing [[Personal computer|personal computing]] movement.
-Margot Comstock was co-founder and editor of the [[Softalk]] magazine. Comstock and Al Tommervik founded Softalk in 1980 to share the hardware, software, and people behind the [[Apple II]].
+== Career ==
-The startup capital for ''Softalk'' came from Margot Comstock, who had won on the [[television game show]] ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]].''
+Comstock worked as a freelance textbook editor, magazine article writer, and journalist.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Nooney |first=Laine |date=2022-10-11 |title=One of the most important women in Apple's history never worked for Apple |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/11/23397926/margot-comstock-apple-ii-softalk |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref> She also enjoyed playing games,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Levy |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JwKHDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Margot%20Tommervik%22&pg=PA266 |title=Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution – 25th Anniversary Edition |date=2010-05-19 |publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc." |isbn=978-1-4493-9380-9 |pages=265–266, 398 |language=en}}</ref> and in 1979 she won more than $15,000 on the [[television game show]] ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]].''<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Watterson |first=Thomas |date=1982-07-02 |title=Personal-computer fans byte into Apple Orchard and a big array of other magazines catering to them |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0702/070246.html |access-date=2022-10-14 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> She and her husband Allan Tommervik purchased an [[Apple II Plus|Apple II+]] with some of the money''.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Díaz |first=Gerardo Con |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhazDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Margot%20Comstock%22&pg=PA181 |title=Software Rights: How Patent Law Transformed Software Development in America |date=2019-10-22 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24932-3 |pages=181–182 |language=en}}</ref> She was enthusiastic about trying games and other software for the computer, along with its larger potential for helping people try new things.<ref name=":2" /> They decided to start a magazine for other Apple users, using the rest of the prize money and a second mortgage on their home.<ref name=":3" />
+=== ''Softalk'' ===
-At its peak, Softalk had 250,000 readers and uniquely offered broad and deep coverage of everything Apple II related, including programming, game playing, business use, and home use. Later, Softalk Publishing produced magazines for the emerging Macintosh and IBM markets, ST.Mac and Softalk for the IBM Personal Computer. Softline, a game magazine begun by [[Ken Williams (game developer)|Ken Williams']] [[Sierra Entertainment|OnLine Systems]] and later renamed to ST.Game, was Softalk Publishing’s second longest-lived magazine. Softalk Books published several books by the magazine’s columnists and a Mac book by Doug Clapp.
+Comstock and Tommervik founded ''Softalk'' in 1980.<ref name=":0" /> They got in contact with a company called [[Softape]] that distributed Apple II software and had a newsletter, and they arranged to take over the newsletter and develop it into an Apple II enthusiast magazine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weyhrich |first=Steven |date=2010-07-02 |title=20 – Magazines |url=https://www.apple2history.org/history/ah20/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=Apple II History: The Story of the Most Personal Computer |language=en-US}}</ref> Comstock was 39 at the time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Nooney |first1=Laine |last2=Driscoll |first2=Kevin |last3=Allen |first3=Kera |date=2020-07-01 |title=From Programming to Products: Softalk Magazine and the Rise of the Personal Computer User |url=https://www.utexaspressjournals.org/doi/10.7560/IC55201 |journal=Information & Culture |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=105–129 |doi=10.7560/IC55201 |s2cid=220495006 |issn=2164-8034}}</ref> She set the vision for the magazine as taking a journalistic approach, instead of focusing on programming as other contemporary computer magazines did.<ref name=":0" /> This made the magazine accessible to Apple II users who weren't programmers.<ref name=":1" /> Comstock's work was part of a transition in personal computing around this time, from computers being hobbyist projects to computers getting used by people interested in games and practical applications.<ref name=":1" />
+Comstock and Tommervik published the last issue of ''Softalk'' in 1984, because fewer companies were paying for advertising, due to a larger shift in the industry, and they did not have money to print more issues.<ref name=":1" />
-The Apple II magazine ran for four years before industry changes and expenses led management to cease publication. In that time, Softalk earned many loyal fans, and a group of volunteers is working to archive and share issues. The Smithsonian Institution recognizes Comstock and Tommervik as pioneers of the microcomputer revolution and Softalk as a chronicle of that revolution.
-{{Drafts moved from mainspace|date=October 2022}}
+=== After ''Softalk'' ===
+In 1987, a [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]] video history project interviewed Comstock alongside people who had published popular software for the Apple II.<ref name=":0" />
+Comstock and Tommervik later published ''Softline'', a game magazine with funding from [[Ken Williams (game developer)|Ken Williams]].<ref name=":2" /> They also published several books, including a Mac book by Doug Clapp.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clapp |first=Doug |url=http://archive.org/details/mac_Macintosh_Complete_-_Doug_Clapp_-_1984 |title=Macintosh! complete |date=1984 |publisher=North Hollywood, CA : Softalk Books |isbn=978-0-88701-009-5}}</ref>
+Comstock was an associate designer for [[Rama (video game)|Rama]], an adventure game published in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rama for DOS (1996) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/rama |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=MobyGames}}</ref>
+Comstock gave a keynote presentation at [[KansasFest]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2014 |title=Former Editor of Softtalk Magazine to Keynote Kfest |url=https://www.callapple.org/general-news-items/events/former-editor-of-softtalk-magazine-to-keynote-kfest/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=[[Call-A.P.P.L.E.]]}}</ref>
+== See also ==
+* [[Byte (magazine)|''Byte'']]
+== References ==
+<references />
+== Further reading ==
+* Doug Carlston, ''Software People: An Insider's Look at the Personal Computer Software Industry'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985), 168–74
+* Steven Levy, ''Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution'' (1994; New York: Penguin, 2001), 308–10, 388–89
+* "Smithsonian Video-history Program, Minicomputers and Microcomputers, Session One, the Brotherhood", by Jon B. Eklund, Smithsonian Institution Archives, July 31, 1987, Record Unit 9533
+* [[iarchive:2015_06_Margot_Comstock_Interview|"Interview with Margot Comstock, Co-founder and Editor, Softalk Magazine"]], by Jason Scott, Internet Archive, June 20, 2015
+[[Category:American magazine editors]]
+[[Category:Apple II family]]
+[[Category:Women in computing]]