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  • Compute! (January 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 20 – January 1982

    Compute!, at least in its earlier days, exclusively covered computers based on the 6502 CPU. In early 1982 these included the Commodore PET, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, VIC-20, and others. The January 1982 issue includes:

    Columns

    • The Editor’s Notes – Atari goes after creators of Atari game clones.
    • Ask The Readers – Questions asked and answerd about chaining programs in BASIC on Commodore computers, the future of the 6502, software protection, accessing all 48K of RAM on the Atari, and more.
    • Computers And Society – An article on the Turing test and measuring artificial intelligence.
    • The Beginner’s: Loops – A look at FOR loops, nesting loops and more in BASIC.
    • New Products – A new dental computer newsletter, new Atari software from Artworx, Cimarron releases CMAR file handling system for Commodore computers, and more.

    Applications

    • INVEST – A BASIC type-in program for helping you to calculate various things with regards to realestate investing.
    • Developing A Business Algorithm – Creating a program to perform various business calculations including things like interest, lease calculations, taxes, and more.
    • Anti-Hesitation Programming: A Tutorial on Arrays – Getting around slowness when using arrays in Microsoft BASIC.
    • How Random Are Sequences Of Random Numbers? – A look at the randomness of numbers generating using RND in BASIC.
    • Telecommunications: Getting Outside The Computer – A look at the computer parts and peripherals that let you communicate with the outside world. These include things such as the UART and MODEM.

    Education

    • Friends Of The Turtle – A new society with the goal of promoting turtle graphics with languages such as Atari PILOT, TI LOGO, and Apple LOGO.
    • Learning With Computers – A look at how computers might change schools in the future.

    The Apple Gazette

    • Apple Addresses – Hexadecimal and decimal addressing on the Apple II.
    • More Apple Hi-Res Shape Writer – A type-in program for creating hi-res shapes on the Apple II.
    • Lower Case With Unmodified Apple – A program that allow you to use lower case letters without hardware modification on the Apple II.
    • COMPUTE! Overview: Individual Tax Plan – A look at a program that helps you prepare your taxes on the Apple II.

    The Atari Gazette

    • Cryptogram – A type-in game for Atari 8-bit computers in which you mus decipher the code.
    • SuperFont – A type-in program for the Atari that allows you to create your own fonts.
    • Word Search – A type-in program for the Atari that allows you to create word search games.
    • Review: Screen Printer Interface (Version 2.0) – A review of this device for Atari computers that lets you capture and print the contents of your screen.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – Part three of a series on the Atari operating system. This part covers Atari I/O device handlers.

    The OSI Gazette

    • Part I: A Small Operating System: OS65D The Disk Routines – Part one of a two part series on using a disk drive with the OSI.

    The PET Gazette

    • A Yuletide Tale – A Christmas Carol starring the PET.
    • Renumbering An Appended Routine Only – A guide to appending one program to another on the PET.
    • BRANCH NEVER And QUIF Assembling On SuperPET – Assembly language programming on the SuperPET (which uses a 6809 CPU).
    • PET Repairs For The Amateur – A guide to various PET problems that are mostly the result of loose connections.
    • Realtime Clock On Your PET Screen – A type-in real-time clock routine for the PET.
    • Tape Load Test And Head Alignment – How to prepare and use a test tape for the cassette recorder of the PET to help align the heads.
    • MICROMON: An Enhanced Machine Language Monitor – A type-in machine language monitor for the PET.
    • Self-Modifying Programs in BASIC – Creating self modifying programs on the PET.

    VIC-20 Update

    • TINYMON1: A Simple Monitor For The VIC – A type-in machine language monitor for the VIC-20.
    • VIC Color Tips – A tutorial for using color in your programs for the VIC-20.
    • VIC Memory Map Above Page Zero – A list of memory locations and their functions on the VIC-20.
    • ZAP! – A type-in arcade game for up to six players for the VIC-20. Try to consume various shapes while avoiding the asterix.

    …and more!


    Apple ][ Atari 8-bit Commodore 64 Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Computer Gaming World (December 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer Gaming World – Issue Number 42 – December 1987

    Computer Gaming World was really the best computer gaming magazine available for most of its life. In its earlier days it covered multiple platforms but eventually became a PC only magazine. The December 1987 issue includes:

    Features

    • Plundered Hearts – A run-through of Plundered Hearts, an adventure game from Infocom which is sort of a spoof on pirate romance.
    • The Electronic Gridiron – A survey of the various computerized football games available at the time. Games covered here include 4th & Inches, GFL Championship Football, Gridiron, Football, Head Coach, Mac Pro Football, Super Bowl Sunday, 3-in-1 Football, Instant Replay, Computer Quarterback, and NFL Challenge.
    • 1987 CGW Game of the Year Awards – The 1987 Computer Gaming World Game of the Year awards were presented at DragonCon where there was also discussion of the future of computer gaming and a gaming tournament. Award winners include The Bard’s Tale II (Electronic Arts), Starflight (Electronic Arts), Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Infocom), Trinity (Infocom), Might and Magic (New World Computing), Hardball (Accolade), Marble Madness (Electronic Arts), Earl Weaver Baseball (Electronic Arts), Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon (Cinemaware), Gunship (Microprose), Defender of the Crown (Cinemaware), Under Fire! (Avalon Hill), Balance of Power (Mindscape), BattleCruiser (SSI), Gettysburg (SSI), Battlefront (SSG), and the overall winner, Ultima IV (Origin).
    • Project: Stealth Fighter – A review of this combat flight simulator for the Commodore 64/128.
    • Beyond Zork – Review of this classic adventure game from Infocom for a variety of systems. This was one of the last games in the long running Zork series of interactive fiction games.
    • Secret Agents, Man! – A look at The Spy’s Adventures in Europe and The Spy’s Adventures in North America. These are two games in a series of educational adventure games for the Apple II.
    • Victory At Sea – The second part of a strategy guide for SSI’s Warship, a naval strategy game.
    • Battles In Normandy – A review of this World War II strategy game from SSG for the Commodore 64 and Apple II.
    • Firepower – Review of this arcade tank game from MicroIllusions for the Amiga (coming soon for the Commodore 64, Apple IIgs, and Dos).

    Departments

    • Editorial – An overview of recent changes to the magazine including both content and layout changes as CGW moved to an IBM AT and desktop publishing.
    • Taking A Peek – Previews of new and upcoming games including Thunderchopper (Apple II, Commodore 64), Wings of Fury (Apple II), California Dreams (Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga), Vegas Gambler (Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, Apple IIgs, DOS), Shirley Muldowney’s Top Fuel Challenge (Commodore 64), Dark Lord (Apple II, Commodore 64), Force 7 (Commodore 64), Tomahawk (Atari, Commodore 64), Street Sports Basketball (Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS), Heartland (Commodore 64), Silicon Dreams (Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS), Solar Star (Atari), Plutos (Amiga), Terrorpods (Amiga, Atari ST), 3D Helicopter Simulator (Dos), Thexder (DOS), Connect (DOS), and Halls of Montezuma (Apple II, Commodore 64).
    • Game Ratings – A list of the top 50 strategy and top 50 action/adventure games as rated by CGW.

    …and more!


    Amiga Apple ][ Atari 8-bit Atari ST Commodore 64 Computer Arcana DOS Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Compute! (March 1981)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 10 – March 1981

    Compute! was a popular multi-format magazine that covered various computers throughout its long life which started in 1979 and lasted until the 1990s. Throughout its early life, it strictly covered computers based on the 6502 processor. The March 1981 issue includes:

    Table of Contents

    • The Editor’s Notes – The editor opines on software piracy vs. the right to back-up software that you buy.
    • A 6502 Version of the Winter Consumer Electronics Show: January ’81 – News related to 6502 based computers at the Winter CES. The biggest product introduced that year was the Commodore VIC-20.
    • The Beginner’s Page – Some beginner information about BASIC, operating systems, ROM, RAM and storage media.
    • Computers and Society – A look at communications between user and computer via programming languages. LOGO and PILOT are emphasized while BASIC and PASCAL are also mentioned.
    • Taking the Plunge – Machine Language Programming for Beginners – An introductory guide to machine language on the PET though it is applicable to other machines of the time as well. The differences between BASIC, machine language and assembly code are discussed.
    • Computer Communications Experiments – An article on building an RS-232C interface which can be used for modems and other things.
    • Basics of Light Pen Operation – In the early days of computing, light pens were a fairly common user interface option. This article describes in technical detail how they work.
    • Getting the Most from your Pet Cassette Deck – The kinds of cassettes you should use, how to shorten they time it takes to search for programs, and more.
    • The Mysterious and Unpredictable RND – Part 3 – Part 3 of a multi-part series on random number generation in BASIC on the PET. This part demonstrates a dice rolling program using multiple dice.
    • A CAI Program Called Linear Equation – A type-in program for Computer Aided Instruction of Linear Equations.
    • Hex Conversion Using the 6502’s Decimal Mode – A machine language method for converting to and from hexadecimal numbers.

    The Apple Gazette

    • Clearing the Apple II Low-Resolution Graphics Screen – Several BASIC methods for clearing the screen.
    • Fun with Apple and PASCAL – A type-in PASCAL arcade style shooter game for the Apple II (basically shoot at the falling shapes).
    • Flipping your Disk – A guide to making your single side disks double-sided. Essentially, this could be accomplished just by clipping a notch in the side of the disk that didn’t already have one. This worked for a variety of 8-bit computers. Drives were generally single sided so you still had to flip the disk over to read and write data to the second side.

    The Atari Gazette

    • Designing Your Own Atari Character Sets – Creating custom character sets on the Atari 8-bit.
    • Atari Basic: A Line Renumbering Utility – A type-in utility for renumbering the lines of a BASIC program. This was important sometimes because you could run out of line numbers. Every line of code in basic started with a line number. If you needed to add code in between two lines then there would have to be available numbers to do so. If you were unwise enough to make every line number consecutive, that could be problematic. It was common practice to number lines by 10s (first line is 10 second is 20, etc.). However, you never know when you might need more extra line numbers in between.
    • Atari Memory Dump and Dissassembler – A type-in program that will both dump the contents of memory locations to disk or disassemble lines of code.
    • Formatted Output for Atari BASIC – An article with two subroutines for helping you to produce nicely formatted output from BASIC.
    • Random Color Switching while Idle – A method to prevent Atari’s built-in color switching screen saver from kicking in. Pressing a key resets the time for this but when playing a games, you may not be pressing any keys.

    The OSI Gazette

    • A Small Operating System: OS65D the Kernel – The final part in a series on the OS65D operating system.
    • A Six-Gun Shootout Game for the OSI C1P – A type-in BASIC game that sounds a bit like Outlaw on the Atari 2600.

    The PET Gazette

    • Learning About Garbage Collection – Garbage collection (memory reclamation) was necessary on PET machines with certain ROM revision in order to reclaim memory used by strings. Here are a couple of short routines to do that.
    • PET Machine Language Graphics – A machine language graphics subroutine for the PET that provides a variety of graphics functions.
    • Disk File Recovery Program – A type-in program for the PET that can recover accidentally deleted files.
    • PET Exec Hello – A type-in program for automatically executing commands when booting from disk.
    • A Flexible Input Subroutine – A type-in subroutine in BASIC that can handle various types of input.
    • Universal Tape Append for PET/CBM – A type in program that allows for one program to be appended to another on cassette.

    The SBC Gazette

    • Experimenting with the 6551 ACIA – Information for interfacing, operating and controlling a 6441 ACIA with a 6502. The 6551 is used primarily for communications.
    • A Vocal Hex Dump for the KIM-1 – A program designed to work with a speech synthesizer to speak the data in a given memory location.
    • Expanding KIM Style 6502 Single Board Computers – Part 3 of 3 – The final part in a series on expanding the KIM (and KIM-style) single board computers. Basically a series on how to use the bus expansion connector of these machines.
    • Cassette I/O with AIM-65 BASIC – How to make your BASIC program read and write to/from cassette on the AIM 65.

    New Products

    • New Products – Commodore releases disaster relief software used during the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel on November 22, 1980, Personal Software Inc. releases MicroChess and Checker King for the Atari 400/800, Cimarron Corp. announces Legal Time Accounting (accounts receivable and matter tracking for the legal profession) for the Commodore 8032, Microcomputer Software Inc. releases The Landlord apartment management software for the Apple II, Microware releases Scientific Plotter graph producing software for the Apple II, Axlon announces 32K RAM expansion for the Atari 400/800, and much more.

    …and more!


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