Previous Consumer Electronics Magazine Launches


Home Theater Builder magazine is the 9th consumer electronics title produced under Publisher Lee H. Pappas. Lee has always been very hands-on in all his publications and has consistantly published titles in areas where he has an interest. Many readers of Home Theater Builder may be familiar with some of the titles below.

Lee Pappas co-launched A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing in February, 1980. ANALOG was the first magazine dedicated to the Atari 8-bit personal computer, which was a top selling computer in the U.S. during the early '80s. Soon after the first issue rolled out, ANALOG quickly became one of the largest personal computer magazines in the 80's. Every issue contained terrific editorial and several type-in software features, many of which rivaled commercial software. Our crew was probably the best in-house computer magazine staff in computer magazine history. It included Tom Hudson (who went on to author Studio 3D for Autodesk) and Brian Moriarty (author of Infocom's Trinity and LucasGames Loom).

ST-Log was launched to keep up with Atari ST 16-bit computer and the rapid release of software to support it. ST-Log started out as an insert in ANALOG, then spun off into a seperate publication. The ST computer found a home in the MIDI (music) segment, as well as in the graphics and primordial days of desktop publishing. Both ANALOG and ST-Log were sold in 1988.

VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was the top selling video game magazine of its day. When Lee launched it, VG&CE covered the 8-bit game consoles such as the Nintendo and Sega, then later the TuboGrafx, Genesis, and Super NES. Computer-platform and arcade games were also covered. VG&CE was also the first mag in the U.S. to include detailed strategy guides on popular games. Our covers were the best at the time frequently featuring the work of Alan Hunter. VG&CE was eventually split-up into several seperate video and computer gaming magazines.





For 6 months Lee commuted from Boston to Los Angeles nearly every week. During his travels he noticed more and more laptop computers being used on planes. PC LapTop Computers Magazine was born! This was more than a year prior to portable computers becoming popular, so we were really in on the ground floor. (386 machines were a dream at the time we released the first issue in February of 1989.) The second year of publishing saw laptop computers outselling desktop machines, and the magazine was accepted as the leader in its category. Every issue reviewed the latest machines, offered tips on the use of various software, contained a detailed buyer's guide of every portable computer on the market.

When Lee got his hands on a Japanese "PC Engine" video game system, he knew it had the best graphics of any system at the time. Lee released Turboplay to cater to the U.S. version of the PC Engine, the NEC TurboGrafx-16. NEC packaged a brochure for Turboplay with every TurboGrafx game system. At first, most of the editorial came from the Japanese PC Engine Fan magazine, published by Shogakukan. The Turboplay staff translated the text to English and augmented the graphics with Alan Hunters wonderful illustrations. Having played video games since the early '70s, Lee had gotten bored with "shoot 'em up's" - The TurboGrafx offered one of his favorite all time games, Military Madness (Nectaris in Japan). Two follow up games to Nectaris were NeoNectaris and (on the SNES) Earthlight.

VISIO was Lee's favorite magazine launch. Covering the spectrum of consumer electronics, gadgets, cool automobiles, and other hi-tech lifestyle products, the magazine was always different and on the cutting edge. The layout and graphics were clean and trend setting - Newsweek and Business Week were just some of the publications to mimic our look. VISIO also utilized some of the top writers in their fields: C. Van Tune (recently the Editor-in-Chief of Motor Trend), Jim Martin (Kit Plane Magazine), Kevin Space (Hot Boat), and Thom Harrop (Camera & Darkroom). Our photography was frequently used by manufacturers for use in their advertising and PR (Casio, Technics, etc.).

Picture This! became the how-to photography magazine for everyone. Our easy-to-use before-and-after style taught photo techniques through pictures, minimizing text. Careful research provided us with the most frequently photographed subjects, making the magazine useful and timely... and fun! Some of our issues have covered vacation photography, pets, portraits, children, and fun photos for kids. Regular contests let readers submit their pictures for a chance to win cameras, film, and other gifts.

Lee also laucnhed a title for the electronics do-it-yourselfer, Popular Home Automation. Covering home theater, home automation, and other practical electronics projects around the house. Step-by-step instrcutions and useful examples guide readers through every stage of a project. Other articles covered using a computer to run your home via lighting, heating and air conditioning, security, and entertainment.

Additional magazine & consumer electronics-related projects include:

A series of advertorials for Discover Magazine, part of the Walt Disney
Magazine group, featuring computers, consumer electronics, and EPCOT Center.

Various consulting and hands-on projects including custom magazine inserts for
The Boston Globe and Anniversary Publishing.

Advisor for the Home Theater Village catalog, a home theater mail order company, based in New Hampshire.

Writing for Electronic House, HA Pro, The Intelligence Report, Archi-Tech, Robb Report, and several other hi-tech magazines.

Spring 2002: Founded Home Theater Builder magazine.
Visit hometheaterbuilder.com for info.

2006: Consulting for Exxon/Mobile Europe on customer incentive program.
Alpha Logica