Just A Typical Weekend In July

It was Texas, it was July 1990, and it was hot! We stood there, just staring at the mountain of work there was to do, and each one of us wished we were somewhere else. We knew the day was shot, and probably the better part of the evening too. What we didn't know, was whether any of this was even worth the effort. It could fail just as easily as it could succeed. Each one of us considered the possibility that we were just wasting our time. First we folded. Then we labeled. Then we sorted and bundled and loaded the canvas bags into the trunk of the car. And like we figured, it took all day, and most of the night. By 9:00 AM the next morning, the first issue of ACPTPF Today was on its way to several thousand people.

That was 6 years ago, and looking back on those humble beginnings I have to tell you that it's been non-stop fun from the beginning, and it's getting better all the time. We started out at 8 pages, and we're pretty much pushing the envelope at our current 24 pages. The scope and quality of our articles has evolved, our subscription base continues to grow, our advertising client list would impress many on Madison Avenue, and I'm very pleased to say that my editorials still manage to get me in trouble every now and again.

I have to say "thank you" to several people who have played a major part in our success story. In no special order they are: Bob Cohen, Bob Deichert, Paul Austin, Roger Rogers and Bob Dryfoos at IBM Corp., Chuck Hammond at EDS, Norm Laeffer, Tom Flynn, and Harvey Showyin at Amdahl Corp., Rick Brandenstein at EMC Corp., George Faucher and Phil Hargrove at DDR, Inc., all of the TPF and ALCS Recruiters that have advertised with us, all of those aspiring authors and technical writers that have published with us, and all of those professionals in the field that have subscribed with us year after year, after year. Last but certainly not least, there's an enormous amount of credit that belongs to my family for their ongoing faith in the publication, their unfettered opinions and criticisms, and their uncanny ability to come up with just the right sentence or phrase when I'm suddenly at a loss for words. They are as much a part of this publication as I am. Thank you all... very much!

So what's in store for the next 6 years? Suffice to say that we've firmly established our presence and our credibility within the technical community. People have been telling me for years now that "we are the voice of the industry". TPF has always needed a voice, and having been called several less attractive "body parts" in my illustrious career, I welcome the role of larynx with both pride and humility. We've recently entrenched ourselves on the World Wide Web, and our Discussion/Development Forums are starting to attract a lot of attention. People are actually asking questions, getting answers, sharing experiences, and developing solutions on the Internet. In response to several requests we recently set up a C/370 Forum and a TPFDF Forum. We're anticipating a tremendous growth in traffic as more and more people access the Internet, and we plan to enhance our presence on the Web in the coming months ahead. As the industry continues to grow, we'll be right there growing along with it.

As for now... it's Memphis, it's July 1996, and it's hot. And like we figured, it took all day, and most of the night, but by 9:00 AM tomorrow morning, the next issue of ACPTPF Today will be on its way to several thousand people.

Alan Sadowsky