For a number of our readers, this is your first issue of SUM Magazine. Others have been with us since we were only a local users newsletter, supporting the Timex Users Group here in Gainesville.
SUM Magazine is the result of the efforts of Joe Williamson and me, Richard Cravy, to help support our “orphan” computers. As a result of several small publishers and dozens of small software and hardware businesses across the U.S., not only are the Timex computers being supported, they are thriving. For those who do not already know, there is more hardware and software now than there ever was when Timex was in the business! We are glad to be a small part in this success.
In SUM Magazine we try to offer a place for entrepreneurs to advertise, and owners to share their discoveries with others. In addition, we try to provide a good mix of news, hardware construction, software programming, and hardware and software reviews. Though we appreciate the help that some companies have given us by advertising or providing review copies, we honestly try to be unbiased in our evaluations, thinking only of whether we would consider purchasing and using a product ourselves. Our opinion may not be the same as others, or the same as the manufacturer – but it is how we honestly feel.
Joe has brought to this task a just completed degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and experience with Sinclair dating back to his purchase and construction of a ZX81 kit.
I have now, have access to, or have owned in the past, numerous computers including IBM PCS, Apple, TRS-80, Sanyo, and Kaypro. My favorite for all around fun, and sincere respect for its engineering genius is, of course, the Timex/Sinclair line.
Growth of SUM since we formally began an active subscription drive last August has been more than we had hoped for. We add new subscribers daily, currently mail to 650+ Timex users and users groups. Some new (and expensive) advertising we are just beginning will generate many more subscribers, and you may be in that number.
Plans for the future are these: MORE OF THE SAME, ONLY BETTER! We hope to keep a 50/50 ratio between advertising and editorial content (by page count), but up the amount of editorial material by using smaller type, and eventually switching over to commercial typesetting. As you’ve noticed, we are a MONTHLY. We think this distinguishes us, for the present, from all other major Timex/Sinclair magazines here in the U.S. Presently we are either the lowest or among the lowest in subscription price and advertising. We hope to keep it that way! This is not a slam against other publishers, for we know that many of them have higher expenses than we do. We wish them the best, and recommend that users subscribe to as many as possible.
We welcome submissions for publication. We do not guarantee to publish it, but we will look at it, and determine if it fits in with our editorial needs. Also, we are willing to pay for both articles and programs submitted according to the schedule printed in each issue of SUM. “Willing” is the key word here, as we leave it to the author’s initiative to tell us if he wants to be reimbursed; if nothing is said, we assume it’s gratis.