BYTE magazine
A monthly magazine on small computers, started in 1975, that covered the entire field through the 1980s.
Byte started in 1975, soon after the first personal computers appeared as kits in the back pages of electronics magazines. Wayne Green, publisher of the amateur radio magazine 73, helped launch it. Carl Helmers, who had written a series of articles on building his own 8008 computer in 1974, became its editor.
A year's subscription cost $10 at first. Unlike magazines for one machine, Byte covered all small computers and software, in technical depth.
Why it matters
McGraw-Hill bought the company in 1979, and the magazine grew into a serious journal. Xerox PARC chose Byte to introduce Smalltalk to the public in 1981. Advertising fell in the 1990s, and the owners ended print publication after the July 1998 issue.
Key facts
- Started in 1975.
- First yearly subscription cost $10.
- Bought by McGraw-Hill in 1979.
- Xerox PARC introduced Smalltalk there in 1981.
- Print edition ended after the July 1998 issue.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Byte (magazine)", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte_(magazine), accessed October 14, 2026.
- Mimms Museum of Technology and Art, "Exhibits", mimmsmuseum.org/exhibits/, accessed October 14, 2026.