Margot Comstock (formerly Margot Comstock Tommervik, – ) was co-founder and editor of ''

Softalk ''Softalk'' () was an American magazine of the early 1980s that focused on the Apple II computer. Published from September 1980 through August 1984, it featured articles about hardware and software associated with the Apple II platform and the p ...

'' magazine, which was influential in the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

community, as part of a growing Personal computer, personal computing movement.

Career

Comstock worked as a freelance textbook editor, magazine article writer, and journalist. She also enjoyed playing games, and in 1979 she won more than $15,000 on the

television game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating wh ...

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services t ...

.'' She and her husband Allan Tommervik purchased an

Apple II+ The Apple II Plus (stylized as Apple ] or apple plus) is the second model of the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Inc., Apple Computer. It was sold from June 1979 to December 1982. Approximately 380,000 II Pluses were ...

with some of the money''.'' She was enthusiastic about trying games and other software for the computer, along with its larger potential for helping people try new things. They decided to start a magazine for other Apple users, using the rest of the prize money and a second mortgage on their home.

''Softalk''

Comstock and Tommervik founded ''Softalk'' in 1980. 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. Comstock was 39 at the time. She set the vision for the magazine as taking a journalistic approach, instead of focusing on programming as other contemporary computer magazines did. This made the magazine accessible to Apple II users who weren't programmers. 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. 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.

After ''Softalk''

In 1987, a Smithsonian video history project interviewed Comstock alongside people who had published popular software for the Apple II. Comstock and Tommervik later published ''Softline'', a game magazine with funding from Ken Williams. They also published several books, including a Mac book by Doug Clapp. Comstock was an associate designer for

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, an adventure game published in 1996. Comstock gave a keynote presentation at KansasFest in 2014.{{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.

Career

''Softalk''

After ''Softalk''

See also

References

Further reading