Popular Computing's predecessor
onComputing ran for ten issues from 1979 to 1981 and marketed itself as a "guide to personal computing." The magazine rebranded as
Popular Computing and switched to a new staff and monthly schedule to fully cover the rapidly expanding and increasingly popular field of personal computing.
Popular Computing aimed to "demythologize" personal computing with accessible coverage on consumer advice, news, gaming, historical essays, and contemporary developments. McGraw-Hill positioned
Popular Computing as an accessible, non-technical magazine for a general interest readership, alongside
Byte, its specialized magazine for more technically-inclined readers.
Circulation In 1983,
Popular Computing was the world's second-highest circulation computer magazine behind
Computers & Electronics, with a
paid circulation of 460,000. In 1984, 89% of
Popular Computing subscribers were male, and the magazine published an article in its September 1984 edition about the
gender disparity in computing. In October 1984, the
National Library Service for the Blind and Handicapped began distributing a
braille edition of
Popular Computing. At the time of its closure in December 1985,
Popular Computing was one of the four largest personal computer magazines, with a circulation of about 250,000 to 270,000. •
Richard Benyo •
Pete Carey •
Chris Crawford •
Richard Dalton •
Thom Hartmann •
Steven Levy •
Peter McWilliams •
Dale Peterson •
Jerry Pournelle •
Randall Rothenberg •
Robert Swirsky •
David Weinberger •
George Zebrowski McWilliams stopped writing for the magazine due to a disagreement with its editorial stance, which he felt homogenized articles into inoffensive, monotone prose. ==Closure==