Atari ST Userwas a Britishcomputermagazine aimed at users of theAtari STrange. It started life as a pull-out section inAtari Usermagazine. From March 1986[1]onwards it became a magazine in its own right, outliving its parent by a number of years. It was published byEuropressin London.
AlthoughST Userdid review games and carry demos, far more of the magazine was concerned with 'serious' issues such as hardware, programming, and music than its rivalsST ActionandST Format.
The Cover Disk that was supplied with issue 59, cover dated January 1991 had aboot sectorcomputer viruswhich infected the memory of the Atari ST and was written to other disks that were not write-protected. Issue 60 had a free games cover disk as an apology, and was supplied with a virus killer.[2]Source is[link removed by ]
Towards the end of its print run,ST Usermerged with the game-oriented magazineST Action, and publication finally ceased in November 1994,[1]leavingST Formatas the only surviving Atari ST publication that was still widely available.
ST Reviewwas acomputer magazinein theUnited Kingdomcovering theAtari STduring the early to mid 1990s. Published byEMAPand launched in May 1992[1]and placed at the "serious end" of the market, it catered to ST users who wished to use their ST for a variety of productive uses, such as itsMIDIcapabilities,programmingorword processing, as opposed to casual gaming. The title was sold to Europress after EMAP decided to close it due to lower-than-expected sales and it ran for another two years with Freelance Editor Vic Lennard, full-time Deputy Editor, Tony Kaye and a full-time designer. This three-man team, along with several freelance contributors, kept the magazine popular for almost another two years before it finally succumbed to falling sales and the lack of success of Atari's Falcon, the expected replacement of the ST. This was due in part to the increasing PC market.
The magazine was eventually sold to Future Publishing, producers of rivalST Format. The last issue was published in January 1995.[2]
Like many similar magazines, it contained sections of news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, columnists, reader's letters, and cover-mounted disks ofsoftware.
ST Formatwas acomputer magazinein theUKcovering theAtari STduring the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like other members of theFuture plcFormat stable -PC FormatandAmiga Format, for instance, it combined software and hardware reviews with columnists, letters pages and acover disk.
The magazine was launched in 1989[1]when its predecessor, the short-livedST/Amiga Formatwas split into two separate publications. Most of the staff went on to work atST FormatwithAmiga Formatessentially being a whole new magazine.
Later on, the magazine was kept alive by enthusiastic freelancers such as Frank Charlton and Andy Curtis, as well as dedicated staff writers and editors such as Clive Parker and Nick Peers.
ST Formatcontinued publication until 1996, when production of the Atari ST andAtari Falconcomputers was all but over. The final issue was published in September 1996, and was the eighty-sixth issue of the magazine. Fan sites for the magazine still exist on the internet, some featuring archives of features from the magazines.
