They say a greater challenge to the industry could come from the proliferation of computer publications, which may already number 300.

Like many computer publications of the time, SoftSide fell on hard times because of financial pressures and competition.

IDG has introduced 120 computer publications since 1967, a growth rate exceeding that of the computer industry itself.

It is involved in computer publications in Germany, Britain and France.

Over all, Ziff-Davis owns four of the nine biggest-selling computer publications.

The electronic publication, he noted, would not be a computer publication and thus not deal with Microsoft products.

According to Ziff-Davis, the survey also found that on-line car researchers were twice as likely as the general population to read a computer publication.

The company, based in Cambridge, Mass., was sharply criticized in computer publications and by financial analysts.

The program was an immediate hit, receiving praise and excellent reviews from major computer publications, and, unusually, mainstream business magazines as well.

Quantex computers were built to a high standard, and regularly won awards in many computer publications.