Amiga Mart was eventually absorbed into Retro Mart.
ScuzzBlog: Diaries October 2023
Entry 18th October 2023: Post 1: Ends of time - ActiVision Yahoo Sven Harvey MicroMart.
Ends of time - ActiVision Yahoo Sven Harvey MicroMart.
It is a fact of getting older that you are witness to the demise
of more fragments of your own history. For me the era of computers
is littered with the many memories that have all but vanished into
the ether. Once proud companies and thriving magazines now lay
waste on dusty shelves fading in the winter of time. Just sad.
I was moved this week to shed a tear for ActiVision as they were
finally acquired by Microsoft for 68.7 billion dollars, along
with Blizzard. The names are no longer of their own, they have
become assimilated, to use a Borg term. And so yet another great
pillar of my historical heritage crumbles to dust.
I was reminded of the failed bid by Microsoft some years ago to
acquire Yahoo. To think that Yahoo were once one of the great
founders of my internet past. Times were that they stood head and
shoulders above the likes of Google. For years I was a proud
owner of a thriving Yahoo group and member to a dozen more. In
truth I never once believed that they would all vanish. The bid
of 44.6 million dollars was rejected by Yahoo who were eventually
bought by Verizon.
So I reached for my MicroMart magazine featuring the article on
the purchase of Yahoo and was again reminded of the fragility of
time. For along with many of the other bastions of the reported
word poor MicroMart also fell on the battlefield. Sven Harvey
was a champion for the Amiga and reported weekly on the life and
times of the platform, long after all other publications had
ceased to exist. Unfortunately Sven too was to see his weekly
feature axed and then eventually in 2017 the magazine died.
There are few these days that would themselves shed a tear for
the likes of MicroMart but for me they will always be significant
in the whole history of computing. Whilst their ultimate aim was
to stay in business you sense that their heart and mind was
entrenched in a passion for computers. It is a something that is
lost I'm afraid with the more trivial social media community
that now dominates reporting of such things. I do so miss all
those that grew, prospered and endeavoured to contribute to my
world of computer history. They stand proud as titans, giants of
a time. My memories will never let the likes of Sven Harvey
crumble into dust.
Microsoft may have acquired ActiVision this week, but in truth
their achievement was nort but a grain of sand compared to the
towering pillar of historical worth companies like ActiVision
leave in their wake.
Anyhoo here are a couple of blog items I wrote in support of
MicroMart. Sadly now gone, but not forgotten.
Micro Mart
Entry 0809: Blog: 7
1000th Edition Anniversary
Hi
Well it's here... the 1000th edition of MicroMart and inside Mark
Pickavance takes us on a long and winding journey through the age
of computing as seen by him. It really is a magical read. What
stands out though is the gulf that opens up toward the end of his
story... from 2001 onwards. Not sure if that was deliberate but
his final message is a call to arms for all those that still believe
they can make a difference... I think its that kinda belief that
fuelled computing for so long, and sadly seems missing with today's
generation...
[ quote ]
The world of computing is full of people who nearly wrote a game,
or invented a piece of technology but never patented it.... and
in that respect I am glad of even the failures, because at least
I tried and failed in preference to never actually attempting. So
go and do something extraordinary today. You never know where it
might take you....[mm]
[ end quote ]
MicroMart celebrate their 1000th and happily it would appear that
Sven Harvey writing every week about the Amiga retains his job...
...phew
[ quote ]
This being the 1000th issue of the magazine, I think it is safe to
say there will be a chunk of the readership of this issue who not
only had their eye caught by its front cover but due to the momentous
occasion of a computer mag reaching such a mountainous number of
issues.
You have now reached my little dingy corner and the world of Amiga
has affronted your senses, and you have probably checked the date
on the cover to ensure the mag hasn`t dropped twenty years out of
time.
Quite why this column is still being printed is a mystery to many,
almost as big a question as what the term ' Amiga ' even means in
computing terms. To most who haven't heard the term ' Amiga '
since 1994, your minds eye probably contains the image of an Amiga
500 or even an A1200. Stick around and you'll find out that this is
only the tip of a huge iceberg .. !!
[ end quote ]
Well done to Sven. I'll raise an Amiga in celebration to you....
Here is to the 2000th issue.
From Sven and MicroMart
[ quote ]
..... I think it is fair to say that unless some major changes are
made by Amiga .Inc or a successor , and unless the Amiga market is no
longer resembling a Romero cinematic picture, then issue 1000 ( next
April ) will have the last Amiga Mart. So there's a challenge right
there. To those in charge get your damned backsides into gear or the
last mainstream commercial mag covering Amiga may well stop doing
so next April.
Tough Times Ahead
Ends of time - ActiVision Yahoo Sven Harvey MicroMart.
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Last updated 18th October 2023
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Keep the Faith
scuzzscink 2023