Remember InCider/A+

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

I really miss that magazine.  The fun of the IIGS
hardware I have largely rediscovered working
with PC hardware.  But I have yet to find a PC
magazine as good as either InCider or A+
were.

Those magazines were with us even as Apple
was neglecting the II series to death.  They
were a forum for users to vent their frustration
and also a source of information linking the
Apple II developers, software companies, and
hobbyists with the users.  Each issue was a
gem.

Several times in the history of InCider and A+,
they thought the end was near.  Several times
they included Mac coverage.  A+ had Mac
coverage in 1985.  Then in 1986, the IIGS was
released.  The Apple II community thought
maybe, just maybe Apple came to its senses.
A+ kicked out the Mac and became a II only
magazine again.

But the signs were all there a year after the
IIGS' release despite it doing quite well sales
wise.  Slowly, InCider and A+ shrunk.  They
then merged.  Still they were a great source
of information.  Towards the end, Mac
coverage re-appeared but it was really the
Apple II diehards who still supported what
was left of the magazine.

When InCider/A+ ceased publication, there
were many II publications that mocked it.  But
no Apple II publication has ever really replaced
it.  No offense to GS+ Magazine, II Alive,
Shareware Solutions II, or JuicedGS.  All were
(in some cases are currently) great publications.
But the hole left by the loss of InCider/A+ was
never really filled.

InCider/A+ made it past 100 issues.  Some
magazines never make it that far.

It is safe to say that after the demise of InCider/
A+, the Apple II market never recovered.  Even
compared to PC publications, the feel of that
magazine cannot be matched.

I stopped reading Maximum PC, for example.
Maximum PC reads like it is written by some
frat kids who know about computers.  The
PC info is good, but the writing style gets
tiring.  The closest comparison in the Apple II
world was GS Plus Magazine.  But GS Plus
included a disk of ORIGINAL software which
made up for the journalistic shortcomings.
Maximum PC only comes with a CD-ROM of
freely downloadable demos.

InCider/A+, we solute you!