Gruenberger

Fred Gruenberger, and the "original" Popular Computing:

A Pioneering Computer Scientist:

Fred Gruenberger was an important early computer scientist and mathematician. He grew up in Wisconsin, majored in mathematics, and in WWII he became a specialist in cryptography - providing the perfect intersection of mathematics, number theory, and "algorithms" for which the newly available computers of the 1940's and 1950's were key.

He had many jobs, taught computer programming at University of Wisconsin, joined the Rand Corporation working on the early "Johnniac Computer" and later joined the faculty of California State University Northridge (named San Fernando Valley State College at the time.) There he formed the curriculum for their first Computer Science Degree Programs in the early 1970's. He authored dozens of books on computers, data processing, and programming. He has even has been credited by some as the author of the first computer manual (but several people are given this credit.)

Gruenberger from a 1962 Documentary

(click here for the whole youtube video)

The original Popular Computing magazine:

In the early 1970's, Gruenberger decided to self publish a computer science magazine named "Popular Computing." He wanted to cover interesting problems in mathematics which could be explored with a computer, as well as review new calculators, computers, and books. This wasn't Gruenberger's first periodical. He previously started the obscure Computing News in 1953, but it's not clear how long he was involved. By the last issues in 1962, it had been taken over by others, with no mention of him. Only a couple issues are found on the internet but there are some copies in libraries.

Fred's Popular Computing was published monthly for almost 9 years, from early 1973, until 1981, when he sold the name to McGraw Hill, the publisher of onComputing magazine. With their new name, McGraw Hill's Popular Computing became the highest circulation computer magazine by 1983.

Gruenberger's original version was not a glossy color magazine. It was usually around 16-20 typewritten pages each month, with simple diagrams and photos. And it's price was quite high, at $15-20/year (about $100-140/year in 2023 values.) Circulation numbers at its peak are unknown, but he lamented that he had only around 150 paying subscribers by the end of the first year, in 1973.

Lost to History?

The 1970's saw fast advancements in computing, and almost everything from this era has been cherished and preserved. Even copies of newsletters from the "Homebrew Computer Club" or the "Amateur Computer Society" have been in web-archives for decades. Many early magazines from the 1970's have been digitalized in their entirety and available online. So I was surprised to find in mid-2023 that no copies of this early publication are publicly available. Google books appears to have a scanned copy (from University of California Libraries maybe?) but only very short fragments are available, apparently due to copyright concerns. I found a few mentions and fragments of articles online, but many emails and searches revealed no one with a full issue, much less a whole set of issues.

Paul Armer's Incomplete Copies at CBI:

Luckily, the "WorldCat.org" library database lists several library copies. The University of Minnesota's Charles Babbage Institute has an incomplete set with the first 3 years, most of the 4th year, and then some of the 6th and 7th years. Even more interesting, this set also contains three letters which Gruenberger sent to contributing editors. This copy apparently belonged to Paul Armer, Gruenberger's friend and colleague, former Director of the Computer Science Department of the Rand Corporation, and later Director of Stanford University's Computation Center. Apparently Paul was a contributing editor in early years of the periodical. Paul supported the Charles Baggage Institute when it was formed in Palo Alto, and donated his own archives to the institute, which explains how his copies ended up at the Institute. While not a complete copy, the Institute's issues seem to have the "special surprises" all intact. These were several physical items of interest, taped in to the pages, and included things like computer punch cards, ferrite "donuts" for magnetic core memory, and even a several foot length of magnetic tape, with instructions on how to listen to the secret message it contains.

Who Owns the Copyright now?

Gruenberger passed away in 1998, at the age of 79. He had one son, John Scott, who most likely inherited his copyrights, so long as Fred never sold them to anyone else. Google Books won't make their scanned copy available online until 2068 due to copyright. John Scott has been asked if he would consider releasing this to the public domain. Plans are to release released it in some way through the Computer History Museum (CHM) and the associated "bitsavers.org" site, but timeline is unclear.

Original Copyright Card from U.S. Copyright Office.

A Poor Quality Copy for Researchers/Personal Use:

Below is a very poor copy of a few early Popular Computing issues. They are password protected until copyright permissions can be clarified, so send an email to info@techarc.com if you'd like to "borrow" a copy for personal or research purposes, but you shouldn't keep or distribute copies. While there may not be a lot of monetary value in a 50 year old typewritten newsletter, it's value to historians, and those who want to recognize Gruenberger's contributions to computer science and mathematics, is priceless.

Volume 1: Issues 1-5

These scans are not flattened photographs, but still mostly readable.

If/when the CHM/bitsavers releases good copies, these scans will be removed. Please email info@techarc.com with any concerns, but I really think Fred would like these widely read and enjoyed, rather than hidden away in obscurity.

Three letters to the Contributing Editors:

Paul Armer's copies from CBI include three interesting letters which provide insight into the first years production, circulation, and goals. These were not meant to be publicized, in fact the 3rd letter explicitly says that circulation numbers are not for public release.

Letter #1 (April 8, 1973)

This first letter, dated April 8, 1973 accompanied the second issue, and captures Fred's pride in the second issue's improvements.

Letter #2 (August 8, 1973)

Here Gruenberger announces surpassing 100 paid subscriptions, but thought 170 were needed to be "in the black." He describes plans and upcoming articles, and reports subscriptions are going to 5 foreign countries.

Letter #3 (November 12, 1973)

This last 3-page letter, summaries where things were after the first year. By then there were only 150 paid subscriptions "which is disappointing" and described his efforts toward publicity and advertising. He explains his intended audience - wanting to appeal to "the high school crowd" as well as "the professionals, the computer science majors, and the number nuts." He enumerates nine core goals of the magazine.

Page 1 (right click to open in window larger)

Page 2 (right click to open in window larger)

Page 3 (right click to open in window larger)

Again, it is anticipated that this will be publicly released soon by the CHM and bitsavers, so these poor copies will be removed. For questions or comments, please email us at info@techarc.com.

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