Softdisk

Softdisk was an American software and Internet company founded in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1981. It began as a publisher of software distributed on floppy disks, an early form of subscription-based digital publishing that the company described as a “magazette,” combining the recurring format of a magazine with the storage medium of a diskette. The business was affiliated with, and partly owned by, the paper magazine Softalk at its formation, but continued after Softalk ceased publication. The company built a portfolio of disk-based publications for several important home-computer platforms. Its products included Softdisk for the Apple II, Loadstar for the Commodore 64, Big Blue Disk and later On Disk Monthly and Softdisk PC for IBM-compatible computers, Diskworld and later Softdisk for Mac, DTPublisher for desktop publishing, Softdisk G-S for the Apple IIGS, Softdisk for Windows, PC Business Disk, The Gamer’s Edge, and the short-lived Shareware Spotlight. These products supplied software, games, utilities, articles, and other material on a regular subscription basis at a time when online distribution was limited and physical software retail dominated the market. Softdisk is especially associated with the early careers of John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, and Tom Hall, who worked on or contributed to the company’s Gamer’s Edge game-subscription operation. The group later founded id Software, and Softdisk remained contractually connected to several of their early games. Titles produced for or through Softdisk included Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion, Rescue Rover, Rescue Rover 2, Hovertank 3D, Tiles of the Dragon, Catacomb 3D, and Keen Dreams. The company subsequently commissioned additional games from other developers and continued publishing games into the mid-1990s, including In Pursuit of Greed and Alien Rampage. Softdisk’s publishing operations gradually declined as disk magazines became less commercially viable in the late 1990s. The company also expanded into Internet-related services from 1995, providing local dial-up access in the Shreveport area along with Web hosting and Web development. Internet services eventually became its principal business. By 2006, the Softdisk website redirected to Bayou Internet, which had taken over the company’s Internet operations. Some former Softdisk software and game properties were later distributed or maintained by other companies, including Flat Rock Software. Softdisk is therefore best understood as a defunct technology brand with historical importance in early software-by-mail publishing, shareware distribution, and the formative history of id Software.

Softdisk was established in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1981 during the rise of home and personal computing. Its initial business model was based on distributing software and editorial material on floppy disks through recurring subscriptions. The company used the term “magazette” to describe this hybrid of a magazine and a diskette. The model gave computer users a regular supply of programs and information before widespread bulletin-board systems, broadband connections, and downloadable software stores became available. At its founding, Softdisk was affiliated with the paper magazine Softalk and was partly owned by interests associated with that publication. Softdisk nevertheless survived Softalk’s later demise and developed its own range of products. It published platform-specific services for the Apple II, Commodore 64, IBM-compatible PCs, Apple Macintosh, Apple IIGS, and eventually Microsoft Windows. The portfolio covered games, utilities, programming material, desktop-publishing tools, business software, and curated shareware. One of the company’s prominent PC products was Big Blue Disk, launched in 1986 for IBM-compatible computers. The product was a monthly disk publication requiring 256 kilobytes of memory. In 1989, IBM sued Softdisk over the use of “Big Blue,” a phrase strongly associated with IBM. Softdisk later used alternative names, including On Disk Monthly and Softdisk PC, for related PC-oriented publishing. Softdisk’s lasting influence on game history came from its Gamer’s Edge operation. Beginning in 1990, Gamer’s Edge supplied a monthly PC game disk. John Romero was involved in starting the service, while John Carmack and Adrian Carmack worked on development. Tom Hall, then associated with Softdisk’s Apple II department, contributed to game design, and Lane Roathe edited the publication. The developers who would soon establish id Software produced additional games for Softdisk in order to fulfill contractual commitments after leaving the company. This work included Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion, Rescue Rover, Rescue Rover 2, Hovertank 3D, Tiles of the Dragon, Catacomb 3D, and Keen Dreams. Softdisk later hired other development teams to build games using technology created by the earlier group. Its game-publishing activities continued through the mid-1990s and included releases such as In Pursuit of Greed, associated with an early Doom-derived engine lineage, and Alien Rampage, which originated from a side-scrolling project known as Ravager. Softdisk also employed or hosted people who later became associated with other major computer-game companies, including early Origin Systems personnel. These links made the company an important, if largely indirect, part of the history of the American PC-game industry. The commercial environment for disk magazines weakened during the 1990s as CD-ROMs, boxed software, online services, and downloadable distribution displaced floppy-disk subscriptions. Softdisk’s publication lines were largely discontinued by the end of that decade. Loadstar survived as an independent operation serving a niche Commodore community. From 1995 onward, Softdisk increasingly concentrated on Internet-related work. It offered local dial-up service in and around Shreveport as well as Web hosting and Web development. This transition reflected the broader movement from physical software delivery toward online access and hosted services. By 2006, the Softdisk website redirected users to Bayou Internet, which had taken over the company’s Internet operations. Former Softdisk properties continued to circulate through other channels. Flat Rock Software later operated the downloadstore.com service and published some former Softdisk titles, while several early 3D game source-code projects were released under the GNU General Public License in 2014. Softdisk is now defunct as an independent company, but its legacy remains visible in subscription software publishing and in the early professional history of id Software.

• 2014

  Selected early game source code is released

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  Flat Rock Software releases source code for Catacomb, Catacomb 3D, and Hovertank 3D under the GNU General Public License.

• 2006

  Internet operations move to Bayou Internet

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  Softdisk’s website redirects to Bayou Internet after that company takes over Softdisk’s Internet activities.

• 1999

  Windows disk publication ends

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  The Softdisk for Windows publication, which ran from 1994, is discontinued as the company’s traditional disk-publishing model declines.

• 1995

  Internet services become a major business

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  Softdisk expands into dial-up Internet access, Web hosting, and Web development.

• 1990

  Gamer’s Edge begins

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  Softdisk starts a monthly PC game-disk subscription that employs several future id Software founders.

• 1989

  IBM trademark dispute

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  IBM sues Softdisk over the “Big Blue” name used for its PC disk publication.

• 1986

  Big Blue Disk launches

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  The company starts a monthly disk magazine for IBM-compatible PCs and compatibles.

• 1981

  Softdisk is founded in Shreveport

  [1]Softdisken.wikipedia.org

  Softdisk begins operations as a Louisiana software and disk-publication company, initially affiliated with the paper magazine Softalk.

Softdisk positioned itself first as a recurring publisher of curated software and editorial content on floppy disks, then as a producer and distributor of subscription computer games and software. In its later period, it repositioned toward regional Internet access, hosting, and Web development.

• Apple II disk magazine · 1981

  Softdisk

  The original Apple II-oriented Softdisk publication delivered recurring software and editorial material on floppy disks. It represented the company’s core magazette model and helped establish its identity as a subscription publisher for home-computer users.

• Commodore 64 disk magazine

  Loadstar

  Loadstar was Softdisk’s recurring software publication for the Commodore 64. It became one of the company’s most durable platform-specific properties and later continued independently for a dedicated community of Commodore enthusiasts after Softdisk’s broader publication business declined.

• IBM PC disk magazine · 1986

  Big Blue Disk

  Big Blue Disk was a monthly disk publication for IBM PCs and compatible computers. It supplied software and related content to systems with limited memory by contemporary standards. The name became the subject of an IBM trademark lawsuit in 1989, after which related products were associated with names including On Disk Monthly and Softdisk PC.

• PC game subscription · 1990

  The Gamer’s Edge

  The Gamer’s Edge was Softdisk’s monthly PC game-disk service. Its development staff included John Carmack, John Romero, and Adrian Carmack, with Tom Hall contributing to design. The service is historically notable because its staff later formed the core of id Software and produced several early technology-driven PC games.

• Windows disk magazine · 1994

  Softdisk for Windows

  Softdisk for Windows was a recurring software publication aimed at Microsoft Windows users. It extended the company’s disk-magazine model into the growing Windows market and ran from 1994 until 1999, when floppy-based subscription publishing was becoming commercially obsolete.

• Internet service and Web hosting · 1995

  Softdisk Internet Services

  Softdisk’s later Internet business provided local dial-up access in the Shreveport area, Web hosting, and Web development. Introduced from 1995, these services eventually became the company’s principal area of activity before the operations were taken over by Bayou Internet.

• PC video game

  In Pursuit of Greed

  In Pursuit of Greed was one of Softdisk’s later video-game publishing projects. It was associated with an early version of a Doom-derived engine lineage and illustrates the company’s continuing involvement in PC games after its original subscription disk products began to fade.

• PC video game

  Alien Rampage

  Alien Rampage was a later Softdisk-published side-scrolling action game. It developed from an earlier project known as Ravager and formed part of the company’s mid-1990s game-publishing activity.

• 2006

  Transfer of Internet operations to Bayou InternetM&A

  Background

  Softdisk was no longer operating its Internet business as an independent primary brand.

  Action taken

  Bayou Internet took over Softdisk’s Internet operations, and the Softdisk website redirected to Bayou Internet.

  Aftermath

  Softdisk ceased to function as an independent operating Internet-services company, while some software and game properties continued through other distributors.

  Source

• 1995

  Shift toward Internet servicesStrategy

  Background

  The market for floppy-disk software subscriptions was weakening as CD-ROMs and online distribution gained importance.

  Action taken

  Softdisk expanded into local dial-up access, Web hosting, and Web development, eventually making Internet services its main business.

  Aftermath

  The company’s traditional disk publications were later discontinued, and its Internet operations were ultimately taken over by Bayou Internet.

  Source

1. 1Softdisken.wikipedia.org
2. 2Softdisk official websitesoftdisk.com