Loadstar

Loadstar (ISSN 0886-4144) was a disk magazine for the Commodore 64 computer, published starting in 1984 and ceasing publication in 2007 with its unreleased (until 2010) 250th issue. It derived its name from the command commonly used to execute commercial software from a Commodore 1541 disk: LOAD "*",8,1, with inspiration from the word "lodestar".

Loadstar was launched as a sister publication of Softdisk, based in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was the second platform for which Softdisk produced a disk magazine, after the Apple II. At the time, the Commodore 64 was a very popular home computer due to its inexpensive price and advanced graphics and sound capabilities.

Early issues of Loadstar were produced by the Softdisk staff, most of whom had more experience with Apple than Commodore computers at the time, and much of the content was ported over from the Apple. However, over time, Commodore-specific staff and freelance contributors came aboard.

In addition, Loadstar was the official disk magazine for magazines published by Commodore, including Power/Play and Commodore Magazine. Users could find type-in programs from these publications featured on Loadstar.

In 1987, Fender Tucker was hired as its editor, and he gave Loadstar a distinctive style and atmosphere, including references to a fictional "Loadstar Tower" where it was supposedly published (the offices at the time were in fact in a basement). Loadstar's staff soon expanded to include Jeffrey L. Jones and Scott E. Resh, and the magazine's regular "Puzzle Page" feature - with interactive crosswords, card games, and logic puzzles - was edited by Barbara Schulak.

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