John J. Anderson or J.J. Anderson (November 8, 1956 – October 17, 1989) was a writer and editor covering computers and technology. The New Jersey native was Executive Editor of '' Computer Shopper'' and ''Atari Explorer''. At the time of his death he was an editor for ''MacUser'' magazine in

Foster City, California Foster City is a master-planned city located in San Mateo County, California, United States. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley for its local industry and its proximity to Silicon Valley cities. There are many n ...

. He was 32, and was survived by a wife, Lauren Hallquist Anderson, and two children. John began writing the "Apple Cart" column in ''

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...

'' magazine in January 1983 after

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left to work for a video game company in California. He followed this with the "Outpost Atari" column in the same magazine. John would become ''Creatives Executive Editor, working alongside founding editors David Ahl and Betsy Staples.

Death and legacy

John and fellow MacUser editor Derek van Alstyne were killed in San Francisco during the

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...

. They were visiting the city for a business meeting when the front of a building collapsed, burying his car in debris from a brick wall. ''MacUser'' named two of its annual Editors' Choice Awards, celebrating distinguished achievement and up-and-coming talent, respectively, after the pair. On October 31, 1989, the John Anderson Memorial Fund was established by

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as a trust fund for John's two children. Bill Ziff, President of Ziff, personally contributed $50,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John J. American magazine editors 1956 births 1989 deaths Writers from New Jersey Writers from California 20th-century American non-fiction writers Natural disaster deaths in California Deaths in earthquakes