''Micro Cornucopia'', sometimes shortened to ''Micro C'', was a 1980s magazine for

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (P ...

hobbyists and enthusiasts. It was published in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River. The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...

by former

Tektronix Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent c ...

engineer David J. Thompson. The magazine, conceived as a newsletter for users of the Ferguson Big Board (a single-board

CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...

computer), was published bi-monthly beginning in July 1981. It soon expanded its coverage to other board-level computers, the

Kaypro Kaypro Corporation was an American home and personal computer manufacturer based in Solana Beach, California, in the 1980s. The company was founded by Non-Linear Systems (NLS) to compete with the popular Osborne 1 portable microcomputer. Kaypro ...

computer, and general hobbyist/experimental computing, with special interest areas being

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

, interfacing,

embedded systems An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is em ...

and

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Programming languages are described in terms of their Syntax (programming languages), syntax (form) and semantics (computer science), semantics (meaning), usually def ...

s. The magazine routinely published circuit diagrams and

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

. ''Micro C'' carried articles on a wide range of subjects, some system-specific and newsletter-like, but also covering (then) off-mainstream topics, e.g.

3D graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of perfor ...

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, or the special needs of disabled users. They published a 32-page catalog of CP/M and MS-DOS software, cover date Fall/Winter 1986, describing it as the second, the first having been the Spring issue. The publishers of ''Micro C'' organized free annual user conference dubbed "SOG" (Semi-Official Get-together) in Oregon.

Final issue

In issue 53, May 1990, Thompson wrote, "I'm closing down ''Micro C'' and I don't know what I'll be doing next." He explained his loss of interest in the magazine, and subscribers were offered the choice to switch to one of several other magazines, including ''Computer Language''.

Personnel

* Publisher: David J. Thompson * Technical Editor: Larry Fogg * Regular contributors & staff: ** Scott Robert Ladd **

Bruce Eckel Bruce Eckel (born ) is a computer programmer, author, and consultant. Eckel's best known works are ''Thinking in Java'' and the two-volume series ''Thinking in C++'', aimed at programmers wanting to learn the Java (programming language), Java or C ...

** Tony & Becky Ozrelic

References

External links

* {{Internet Archive, microcornucopia, Micro Cornucopia
Issue 12, June 1983
page images 1980s establishments in Oregon 1990 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1981 Magazines disestablished in 1990 Magazines published in Oregon Robotics magazines