by Clayton Walnum

It's now been over seven years since the first copy of ANALOG Computing hit the stands. Over that period of time, Atari has had its ups and downs, and through it all, ANALOG has been there to provide its readers with the information they needed to get the most from their computers. But after seven years of publishing, it gets very tough to come up with new topics for discussion. Even though the Atari 8-bit computers have had a couple of face-lifts over the years, they are still essentially the same machines they were when they were first released. There is simply nothing new that can be said about them. (We would be delighted if someone out there could send us an article to prove us wrong. That's a challenge!)
    It occurred to me that there are a great number of new ANALOG Computing readers-readers that are experiencing Atari computers for the first time. And these new readers have a need for much of the information we Atari veterans consider "old hat:" After all, it has been years since topics such as player/missile graphics, display lists, page flipping and modified character sets have been covered at a level that the novice programmer could understand. Should we, perhaps, cover these topics again? Write to us and let us know!
    I've always envisioned ANALOG's growth as a long line that projected from the past into the future. But with recent developments (or should I say lack of developments) it appears to me that maybe ANALOG should start coming full circle, should start providing some of the information that new owners have missed.
    One thing that people are constantly asking for is reprints of the early Boot Camp columns. This assembly-language tutorial started way back in Issue 13, and is without a doubt the finest series of tutorials of its type ever written. (I can say that without boasting because back then, I was an ANALOG Computing reader just like you, not involved editorially at all. Boot Camp was one of ANALOG's features that I most looked forward to each month.) With this issue, Karl Wiegers, our current Boot Camp author, is retiring his position. And since most every assembly-language topic has been covered anyway, we have to make a decision. Do we drop Boot Camp from our table of contents? Or do we try to replace it?
    My suggestion to the publisher was that we dig all the way back to Issue 13 and start reprinting the column. First of all, most of those early issues are out of print, so the initial Boot Camp columns are completely unavailable to our readers. Secondly, there is no one I know who can cover the topic better than Tom Hudson, so I don't see any point in having someone rewrite what has already been covered splendidly.
    The bottom line is that it's up to you, the readers. Drop us a line and let us know if you'd like to see the early Boot Camp articles reprinted. Drop us a line if you don't want to see them reprinted. We'll tally the votes and come to a decision based on what you want.
    And speaking of making decisions, please take a look at the short survey we've included in this issue. We hope that most of you will take the time to check off your responses and mail it in. If ANALOG is to continue to grow, we have to know what you want. Thanks.
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