''.info'' (originally ''INFO=64'' and later ''INFO'') was a

computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements. ...

covering

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

8-bit computers and later the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

. It was published from 1983 to 1992.

History

''INFO=64'' began as a newsletter published by its founder, Benn Dunnington, operating out of a spare bedroom in his home. After a few issues, the entrepreneurial spirit struck and he decided to expand it into a full-fledged magazine. The first few issues of the magazine were published by Dunnington operating as a

sole proprietorship A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by only one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. ...

in the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. After a few issues, he moved the company to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, eventually incorporating as ''Info Publications, Inc.''. This, in turn, became a

limited partnership A limited partnership (LP) is a type of partnership with general partners, who have a right to manage the business, and limited partners, who have no right to manage the business but have only limited liability for its debts. Limited partnership ...

, (''Info Publications Ltd''), which published the magazine until its demise. ''INFO=64'' was produced using personal computers. An editorial statement in each issue explained that the magazine was produced using only "lay equipment", such as

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s and 35mm cameras, that were inexpensively available to the general public. Early issues were typeset using a

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and a

dot-matrix printer Dot matrix printing, sometimes called impact matrix printing, is a computer printing process in which ink is applied to a surface using a relatively low-resolution dot matrix for layout. Dot matrix printers are a type of impact printer that p ...

, giving the magazine a distinctive hand-crafted appearance. ''INFO=64'' changed its name to ''INFO'' from issue 8, September-October 1985, reflecting its expanded coverage of Commodore computing. The magazine soon switched to a more professional appearance using

laser printer Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a Electric charge, negatively charged cylinder call ...

s with Springboard Software's The Newsroom or

Berkeley Softworks Berkeley Softworks, Inc., later GeoWorks Corporation, was an American software-development company founded by American computing engineer and former Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufact ...

' GEOS

geoPublish geoPublish is a discontinued desktop publishing program made by Berkeley Softworks for their GEOS Operating System. geoPublish brought proper Desktop Publishing to the Commodore 64. With Left and Right Master Pages page layout work was simplif ...

software for 8-bit Commodores, before changing its editorial focus and publishing platform to the Amiga, and changing its name in issue 32, September 1990, to ''.info'' which was coincidentally the

file extension File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece. ** Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gen ...

of Amiga icon files. The magazine switched to its new name and exclusive focus on the Amiga because by 1990 there was no news to cover or advertising interest in 8-bit Commodores. The Computer Press Association named ''.info'' as one of two 'Runners-Up' in the category of ''Best Computer Magazine - Circulation Less Than 50,000'' at its seventh annual awards ceremony in April 1992. Computers in Accounting won that category, which included well over 100 computer magazines at the time, but ''.info'' tied with the slicker and much better-funded

NeXTWORLD NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...

. Ironically, ''.info'' was in serious financial trouble by then, and the publisher was desperately seeking someone to buy the magazine. The magazine closed its doors in April 1992, and on September 20 the magazine's assets were auctioned off.Auction flyer
from the sale of the assets, according t

nostalgia page a lot of the office furniture was actually added by the auctioneers to bulk the sale Over the course of its run, ''.info'' absorbed three pioneering Commodore magazines that ceased publication during the "great extinction" that struck computer magazines in the late 1980s. These were

Jim Oldfield Jim Oldfield (March 4, 1952 – July 30, 2023)https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/257265353/james-arthur-oldfield was an author, editor, and reviewer famous for his work with Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval ran ...

and James Strassma's

Midnite Software Gazette Midnite is an alternative spelling of midnight. Midnite may also refer to: Music * Midnite (band), a roots reggae band from the U.S. Virgin Islands * ''Midnite'', a 2013 album by Salmo (rapper)#2013: Midnite, Salmo * "Midnite", a 2002 song by Bre ...

(which had previously absorbed 'The Paper', one of the oldest independent publications supporting Commodore computers), Mitch Lopes' RoboCity News (the one-time official publication of

FAUG ''Fearless and United Guards'' (abbreviated as ''FAU-G'' or ''FAUG'') is an action game developed by Bengaluru based company nCORE Games. It was released worldwide on 26 January 2021 for Android (operating system), Android and in March 2021 for ...

, the First Amiga Users' Group, before it was spun off), and Chris Zamara and Nick Sullivan's

Transactor ''The Transactor'' was a computer magazine directed at users of Commodore International, Commodore home computers. In contrast to other Commodore-focused publications such as ''Commodore Magazine'' and ''COMPUTE!'s Gazette'', ''The Transactor ...

(the official publication of

TPUG The Toronto PET Users Group is one of the world's oldest extant computer user groups, and was among the very largest. The non-profit group is based in Toronto but has an international membership. It supports nearly all Commodore computers, includ ...

, the Toronto PET Users' Group). Unfortunately, when ''.info'' ceased publication, the receivers stood in the way of allowing its publisher to find another magazine to fulfill its subscriptions. A full set of the entire run of INFO magazine, including photocopies of the original newsletter along with other documents related to the magazine, is housed in the library of the

State Historical Society of Iowa The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI), a division of the Iowa Department of Administrative Affairs, serves as the official historical repository for the State of Iowa and also provides grants, public education, and outreach about Iowa his ...

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

. Scans and full text of most issues of INFO are available at

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Staff and writers

*Benn Dunnington - Founder, Publisher, Editor *Mark R. Brown - Managing Editor *Tom Malcom - Senior Editor *

- Associate Editor (after acquisition of 'Midnite Software Gazette') *Carol Brown - Advertising Director (through issue 31) *Anna Folkers - Advertising Director (issues 32-49) *Megan Ward - Art & Production Director *Kent A. Embree - Art & Production Assistant *Tony Bodensteiner - Art & Production Assistant *Marty Amorin - Data Manager (early issues) *Judith Kilbury-Cobb - Data Manager (through issue 47) / Staff Writer *Krista L. Kapacinskas - Data Manager (issue 49) *Chris Zamara - Technical Editor (after acquisition of 'The Transactor') *Nick Sullivan - Technical Editor (after acquisition of 'The Transactor') *Bradley W. Schenck - Contributing Editor / Graphics Columnist *Harv Laser - Contributing Editor / Multimedia Columnist *Peggy Herrington - Contributing Editor / Music & Sounds Columnist (through issue 42) *Bob Lindstrom - Contributing Editor / Music Columnist (issues 44-49) *Oran J. Sands III - Contributing Editor / Video Columnist *Jeff Lowenthal - Contributing Editor / Public Domain Columnist *Don Romero - Contributing Editor / GEOS Columnist & 'CHUMP' computer magazine parody guru *Jim Meyer - Contributing Editor / Productivity Software Reviewer *Mort Kevelson - Contributing Editor / Hardware Reviewer *Gregory Conley - Contributing Editor / Cartoonist *Warren Block - Contributing Editor *David Martin - Writer *Bob Baker - Writer * Daniel Barrett - Writer *Mindy Skelton - Writer *

Jim Butterfield Frank James Butterfield (14 February 1936 – 29 June 2007), was a Canadian computer programmer, author, and television personality known for his work with early microcomputers. He is particularly noted for associations with Commodore Business M ...

- Writer *

Dave Haynie Dave Haynie is an American electrical engineer and was chief engineer at Commodore International. He is vocal in the Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's ...

- Writer

References

External links

Partial ''.info'' index
from the Amiga University Library
Partial Gallery of ''.info'' covers
from Benn Dunnington, founder, publisher {{DEFAULTSORT:INFO Amiga magazines Monthly magazines published in the United States Commodore 8-bit computer magazines Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1983 Magazines disestablished in 1992 Magazines published in Iowa Magazines published in Washington (state)