This will be my last daily compendium of the odd assortment of headlines to catch my interest. I hope they’ve been some help or amusement to others. Thank you to everyone who sent me feedback.
Technologizer (Harry McCracken): The raccoons who made computer magazine ads great
If you remember the computer magazines of this era at all, you recall how thick they were—hundreds and hundreds of pages an issue in the case of the most successful ones. The majority of those pages were ads, not editorial content. And a sizable chunk of those ads were catalog-y in the extreme. Pages and pages were devoted to lists of products and prices in teensy type, with 1-800 numbers you could call to place an order.
About a gazillion mail-order houses did business this way. The April 1991 PC World, for instance, includes advertisements for outfits such as Advanced Computer Products, Arlington Computer Products, Bulldog Computer Products, Computer Bazaar, Fast Micro, Kenosha Computer Center, NSI Computer Products, Paradise Computer Products, Telemart, and United Computer Express. Only the names and slightly varying levels of ad-design proficiency served to distinguish most of them.
⋮
Behind the scenes, PC Connection really was a small-town success story. The company was founded by Patricia Gallup and David Hall, who’d met by chance in 1975 when both were hiking the Appalachian Trail. Gallup ended up working at Hall’s family business, a mail-order purveyor of professional audio components in Marlow. When the IBM PC came along in 1981, the company bought one to computerize its business.
Alexandra’s Kitchen: The Best, Easiest Focaccia Bread Recipe
Cold, refrigerated dough is the secret to making delicious focaccia! Allowing the dough to rest 18 to 48 hours in the fridge will yield extra-pillowy and airy focaccia, though if you are pressed for time, you can make this start-to-finish in 3 hours. This 4-ingredient recipe requires only 5 minutes of hands-on time. Video guidance below!
via Cheri Baker
Last Updated: 25.Apr.2025 19:52 EDT
