1988 was not a good year for the A.P.P.L.E. Mac based magazines.  October would mark the end of the 4th volume and the end of the era.  The original plan called for it to become a quarterly, and while 5 issues of the Mac Tech Quarterly were produced, it would not be a great legacy.  Of course the timing spelled the looming end of A.P.P.L.E. too but that would not happen for at least two more years.