Thomas Scovell

Communications Breakdown

In 1993 I came across a magazine on the stands called, “Amiga Down Under”. A new local title, it was all about my favourite piece of hardware, the Commodore Amiga computer. I was 16 at the time, and in a flush of youthful bravado sent them a letter (yes, no email…) asking if I could write for them.

Surprisingly, the editor actually called me back a few weeks later and asked what I’d like to write about. I stammered out something about BBSes or Shareware. He was conducive to both ideas and despite my ending the conversation with a, mortifyingly embarrassing, “it’s okay that I’m 16 right?” I got the job.

Amiga Down Under & Others

I don’t recall if I started writing both columns at once but a couple of months in I was writing, “Communications Breakdown” and “King of the Public Domain”. Yes, even then the puns grated but what can you do? The former was around telecommunications, primarily BBSes. The latter was about shareware, mostly reviews but also commentary and advice for developers.

Looking back at the column I wrote on how to distribute and market Shareware I’m not sure if my advice on marketing is any better 16 years later… The pay wasn’t much but it softened my phone bills – which were a little on the high side for an, otherwise unemployed, teenager who had to make toll calls to access BBSs.

King of the Public Domain

My last article for the Comms column, which wasn’t published (the demise of Commodore, Inc. put the magazine out of business), was an interview with Iconz, Auckland’s first public Internet provider. A few years later I’d be writing a lot more about this whole interweb thing, but that’s another story.