Run (July/August 1992)

Run, July/August 1992

By 1992 the Commodore 64 was really an outdated relic and this magazine was nearing the end of its days. If the reduced page count wasn’t an indication, then publishing only every other month in the Summer should have been a clue. It still had great content though, if you were a kid (or adult) with a Commodore 64. The July/August 1992 issue includes:

Features

  • Shareware – Shareware existed even back in the Commodore 64 days. This article does over shareware vs. public domain, where to get shareware, what’s available and more.
  • Downloading From Q-Link – Q-Link was a Commodore 64 dedicated online service and was one of the best ways to download shareware and other files. This is a brief guide on how to find and download stuff on Q-Link.
  • File Types You’ll Encounter – These days opening most kinds of archives is straightforward. That wasn’t always the case. Here’s a guide for some of the various archive and image types you would encounter when downloading stuff for the Commodore 64 and what you need to access them.
  • Look and Load – A type-in program that provides a memory application that can load a disk directory and files with a single button press.
  • Bowl ‘N’ Score – A type-in menu driven program for keeping track of and analyzing bowling scores.
  • GEOS 101 – GEOS was a windowed operating system for the Commodore 64 and a pretty good one, especially considering it ran on an 8-bit processor in 64K of RAM. This article gives an introductory look at GEOS.
  • Ellen’s Rules – A guide for taking care of your computer, including keeping your computer clean, organizing cables, setting things up, disk drive operation and more.
  • Organizing Your Software – A guide to organizing your software, including using a disk catalog manager.
  • Leap Frog – A type-in game in which you control a frog to avoid snakes and swat dragonflies from the sky with your tongue.

Departments

  • RUNning Ruminations – RUN experiments with different paper types to reduce costs. Plus, a summary of what’s in the magazine.
  • Mail RUN – Readers write in about Jiffy DOS, RAMLink, upgrading, Fun Graphics Machine, producing newsletters, TPUG (Toronto PET User’s Group), and more.
  • Software Gallery
    • The Simpson’s Arcade Game – A decent conversion of the arcade game for the C64.
    • TMNT: The Arcade Game – Another solid arcade conversion for the C64.
    • SWAP – A puzzle game in which you must swap titles to match colors and clear the board.
    • The Blues Brothers – A platform game the plays a bit like Super Mario Bros. only starring the Blues Brothers.
    • Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – An excellent baseball game from SSI.
  • Magic – Short programs to do a screen print, identify disk drives attached to you Commodore 64, and display a flashing message until a key is pressed.
  • News and New Products – Various new products for computer users.
  • Commodore Clinic – Questions answered about Commodore’s 1581 3.5″ disk drive, using a PC keyboard with a Commodore 128D, geoPublish on the Commodore 128, voice synthesis on the Commodore 64, FSD-2 disk drives, and more.
  • 128 Mode – A type-in program for the Commodore 128 that helps you pick an NCAA basketball tournament bracket based on winning percent, average point spread and a variety of other factors.
  • The Game Plan: How Roundball Roundup Works – Some details about how the above program works, including the formulas used.
  • Curtain Call – A look at an excellent printer for the Commodore 64/128, the Star Micronics NX-2430.

…and more!