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  • PC World (January 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – PC World – January 1990 – – Cover

    PC World was one of the most widely read PC magazines in the U.S. In 1990, if you were buying a PC it would have probably been 386 based. A few years later I would be buying a 486 DX2-66. The January 1990 issue of PC World includes:

    Previews

    • HP’s EISA Breakthrough – HP’s Vectra 486 was the first PC to feature EISA slots. EISA was the first standard industry response to IBM’s Micro Channel. EISA was a 32-bit superset of ISA and ISA cards would work in EISA slots. However, EISA was relatively expensive and was never popular on consumer desktop PCs. They were mostly used for SCSI cards in servers. VLB and later PCI would eventually take its place. The Vectra 486 here featured a 25-MHz 486 CPU, supported up to 64MB or RAM, had room for six 5.25″ half-height drives, and included either a 150MB or 320MB 15ms SCSI drive. It would set you back between $13,999 and $16,999.
    • Super Servers – Several servers had been announced at this point that supported EISA including the Zenith Z-386/33E, the NEC 25-MHz 486 based PowerMate 486/25E, NEC 33-MHz 386 based PowerMate 386/33E, the multi-CPU Systempro from Compaq (a $15,999 machine but the article notes that it supports up to 256MB of RAM which cost about $176,000 at the time), the Deskpro 486/25, and more.
    • Can EISA Live UP to the Micro Channel’s Potential? – A comparison of the implementation and technical capabilities of EISA vs Micro Channel.
    • Breaking the Board Barrier – A look at the first wave of EISA boards. These mostly consist of drive controllers.
    • Word Meets Windows – A preview of Microsoft’s long awaited Word for Windows.

    Reviews

    • Micro Channel Clones Flunk the Test – A look at four non-IBM systems that support Micro Channel. Models looked at include the American Mitac’s MPS 22386 and NCR’s 386SX (featuring the 16-MHz 80386SX) as well as the Tandy 5000MCA and Grid’s 386MCA (featuring the 20-MHz 80386 CPU). The conclusion here is that they were a lot of extra money for not much extra benefit and often have compatibility problems.
    • Lotus’s Sensible Upgrade – A look at Release 2.2 of Lotus 1-2-3 which was an update to 2.01 that was lighter on resources and your wallet that release 3.
    • Fax Boards for Fast Times – Eventually pretty much all modems would have fax capability but at this time Fax boards were their own separate thing and some didn’t even have regular modem capabilities. Products reviewed here include the AT&T Fax Connection, The Complete Fax/9600, Datacopy MicroFax, GammaLink GammaFax CP, Intel Connection CoProcessor, and Panasonic FX-BM89 Plus 2. Prices range from $599 to $1295.

    News

    • Top of the News – Lotus debuts beta version of 1-2-3 for OS/2, Compaq launches high-end server with Micro Channel support, bugs found in early versions of i486 processor, and more.
    • Industry Outlook – A look at what vendors pay for PC parts, Lotus still dominates Spreadsheet Market despite Excel gains, desktop and laptop prices compared, and more.
    • Product Outlook – A look at new an upcoming products including the IBM Laserprinter 4019, NEC Intersect CDR-35 (first portable CD-ROM), NEC ProSpeed CSX (color portable), AST FASTboard 486/25 (upgrade your AST 386 based system with a 486), and much more. Except for color, the NEC Intersect CDR-35 looks exactly like the TurboGrafx-CD. Of course, they were both make by NEC so I guess that makes sense.
    • Update – The latest updates of existing software including Applause II, DynaComm 2.1, Micrografx Designer 3.0, XtreePro Gold, Lotus Spreadsheet for DeskMate, DeskMate Q&A Write, and Peachtree Complete III.

    Features

    • Software’s Next Wave: Putting the User First – The promise of intuitive applications in the age of high-powered hardware and easy-to-use interfaces.
    • Next: The Programmer’s Dream Machine – A brief look at the Next machine. It was not itself a commercial success but its OS would eventually morph into Apple’s OS X.
    • User-Friendly Programming: The Manager’s Perspective – Managers look for ways to reduce the burden of training and development.

    How To

    • Do-It-Yourself Menus with Norton Utilities – How to create custom menus with Norton Utilities.
    • Tips & Techniques – Command-line tips and tricks for DOS users, how to create better WordPerfect macros, various application tips and a primer on Paradox Application Language.

    Perspectives

    • Richard Landry – The difficulties of creating software that takes advantage of the latest power hardware while not leaving users of existing PCs behind.
    • Letters – Letters from readers expressing doubt about the necessity of the 486, Windows and excessive resource usage, Microsoft Word and mouse support, WordPerfect vs. WordStar, LAN E-Mail, and more.
    • Another Angle – How the PC represents a revolutionary advancement not in terms of its increasing power but in the applications that are written for it.

    Departments

    • The Help Screen – Questions answered about replacing the clock battery in an Epson Equity III+ (or any computer for that matter), configuring extra memory in an IBM PC, converting Word Perfect macros between versions, and more.
    • Windows Journal – In a battle of word processors for Windows, who will win? Samna’s Ami or Microsoft’s Word? I think we all know the answer to that…
    • Network Q&A – Questions answered about using a fax gateway vs. individual fax boards.

    …and more!


    Computer Arcana DOS 📎and tagged

  • The One (December 1989)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: The One – Issue Number 15 – December 1989

    The One was a U.K. published magazine that covered various mostly 16-bit systems over the course of its life. In late 1989, it was covering the Amiga, Atari ST, and PC (DOS). The December 1989 issue includes:

    Departments

    • Play Guide – A guide to Activision’s Fighter Bomber, a combat flight simulator. This game was known as Strike Aces in the U.S. While I don’t see a mention as to what platform this review is for, this game was released on the Atari ST, DOS, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, and Commodore 64.
    • Feature – A preview of the new Ghostbusters II game. While the graphics were nice the game was sadly not as much fun as the original game.
    • Demos – A look at various demos including Interphase, Stay, Magnetic Beats, Ghostbusters II, DTack, and Moonwalker for the Amiga and Batman and UFO for the Atari ST.
      • Graphics – A tutorial for how to create fancy looking text on the Amiga and Atari ST.
      • Arcades – A look at new and upcoming arcade releases including Chase HQ II from Taito, Midnight Resistance from Data East, and X-Multiply from Irem.
      • Feature – A look at the current state and future of Artificial Intelligence. It’s interesting to look back on how AI was viewed 35 years ago.
      • Letters – Letters from readers on subjects such as Xenon 2: Megablast, Populous, PC reviews, Rainbow Islands, Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest, and more.
        • News – The latest in gaming news including updates on Rainbow Islands, Hawk, a Carrier Command sequel, Xenophobe, Dogs of War, Loom, Stun Runner, and much more. Plus the top games for the nonth of November 1989…For the Amiga the top game is Batman – The Movie, for the Atari ST it’s TV Sports football, and for the PC it’s Jet Fighter.
        • Showcase – A look at reader submitted computer art including Alien, Judge Dredd, and Ghostbusters themed work among others.
        • Work in Progress – Previews of games currently in work including an arcade adventure game called Tusker, a 3D game called Simulcra, an arcade adventure called Myth, and a top down action game called Crack Down.

                        Reviews

                        • Axel’s Magic Hammer – A cutesy platform game for the Atari ST.
                        • F-29 Retaliator – A combat flight simulator from Ocean for the Atari ST.
                        • Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts – Sequel to the classic Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins for the Atari ST. A great game but not easy.
                        • Hard Drivin’ – Atari’s classic polygonal racing game for the Atari ST.
                        • It Came From The Desert – A review of this classic adventure game for the Amiga. I never played it but I remember the TurboGrafx-CD ads the most.
                        • The Ninja Warriors – Arcade conversion of this side-scrolling action game for the Amiga.
                        • Rock ‘n’ Roll – A puzzle game from Rainbow Arts for the Amiga.
                        • Switchblade – A sci-fi themed platform game for the Atari ST.
                        • The Untouchables – An action game based on the movie of the same name for the Amiga.

                        Tips

                        • 3D Pool – Tips for improving your play in this Pool game from Firebird.
                        • Altered Beast – Tips for dealing with the various creatures in this side-scrolling action game.
                        • Conflict: Europe – Strategies for winning this Cold War era strategy game.
                        • Hybris – How to access the cheat mode of this overhead shooter.
                        • Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade – How to pass various sections of this adventure game.
                        • Interphase – A variety of tips for this early first person shooter that features concepts from Neuromancer.
                        • The New Zealand Story – Codes for two different cheat modes.
                        • OutRun – How to activate the cheat mode for the Amiga version of this racing game.
                        • Populous: The Promised Lands – Tips for several levels of this classic strategy game.
                        • Weird Dreams – A variety of tips for this odd adventure game.

                        …and more!


                        Amiga Atari ST Computer Arcana DOS Retro Games 📎and tagged

                      • PC Magazine (January 8th, 1985)

                        Posted on by Azrael Comment

                        Source: PC Magazine – January 8th, 1985

                        PC Magazine was one of the most popular PC magazines in the 1980s and 1990s. The January 8, 1985 issue includes:

                        Cover Stories

                        • Computing – Predictions for the future of personal computing including a computer on every desk by the early 1990s, as many computers as TVs in the home by the end of the century, and lots more.
                        • Other Voices, Other Futures – The opinions of various people on the future of computing. Those surveyed include Ray Bradbury, a theologian, Bob Hope’s personal comedy writer, and many others.
                        • The Best of 1984, and Some of the Worst – Some of the best items include the IBM PC AT, the Lattice C Compiler, the HP Laser Jet printer, MCI Mail, and more.

                        Features

                        • Graphics That Dress for Success – A look at various busines graphics software, mostly for data visualization. Products looked at include VCN ExecuVison, HyperGraphics, and ExecGraphics.
                        • Charting Your Course on the PC – A look at software specifically for creating charts and graphs including Lotus 1-2-3, SuperCalc, Chart-Master, DR Graph, GrafTalk, and Graphwriter.
                        • PC Systems for Pie Chart Picassos – A look at three buisness presentation graphics software packages, including PictureIt/VideoShow, Presentation Master, and Genigraphics.
                        • Samurai Image Processor – A system that uses software, a graphics card, and a film recorder to produce slies of computer graphics. This was before projectors and PowerPoint.
                        • PC Graphics Challenge the Mighty Cray – Comparing the graphics capabilities of the PC with those of the Cray super computer.
                        • Shuttle Radar and PCs Map the Earth – Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory use radar data collected from the space shuttle Challenger and several PC-XTs to map the Earth.
                        • Zooming in for a Closer Look – A look at Index Technology’s $9,500 Excelerator, a software package designed to create various types of detailed graphics such as complicated flow charts.
                        • Screenbusters – A look at a couple of different touch screen systems including Touch Information Display and Touchpen.
                        • Eek! A Mouse for the PC – An article on adding a mouse to the PC and using it. In the DOS days, using a mouse was not especially common on the PC.

                        Pro Columns

                        • Freehand Graphics – Two art programs for the PC, PC Paintbrush and Dr. Halo, are evaluated and compared to MacPaint.
                        • For Doctors: Windows in the Office – A look at Doctor’s Office Manager, medical software from IBM.
                        • A PC Helps Fight Class-Action Suits – How PCs, along with an Epson FX-100 printer, Hayes 1200B internal modem, R:base Series 4000 database software, PMate text editing software, Multiplan spreadsheet software, WordStar word processor and FYI 3000 text management software, helped to win class-action lawsuits against Burlington Northern, Western Electric, Motorola, and the Chicago City Council.
                        • Up in Smoke – Using Halon 1211 instead of water and other traditional to fight fire in order to protect electronic equipment and magnetic media.
                        • Keyboard Codes – Understanding the PC’s character and scan codes.
                        • Let a Broker Do the Searching – Using an information broker to search online databases for you.

                        Departments

                        • PC News – Data loss becomes an increasing problem as those new to mass storage systems don’t backup their data. Tape backups were the best choice at the time. Infocom releases a database package called Cornerstone. Compaq updates Deskpro line of computers with 10-30 MB hard drives…and more.
                        • The Market Grows Up – How both PCs and users have matured over recent years.
                        • More Than Pretty Pictures – The limitations of current PC business graphics packages.
                        • Letters to PC – Letters from readers about software being sold before it is ready, The Technical Investor, Garland Pathfinder, and mail-order price wars.
                        • Hard Disk Housekeeping – A look at various programs to help organize and keep your hard drive clean.
                        • Checkerboard Challenge – Reviews of Gramps: The Checker Champion and Sargon III.
                        • PC Graphics and Sound: Unlimited Designs – Reviews of two books that teach you how to create graphics on your PC: Graphics Primer for the IBM PC and Games, Graphics, and Sound for the IBM PC.
                        • New on the Market – A brief look at new hardware and software including the NIU-130 (local area network interface), 280 MB Internal Expansion Kit (hard drive for the IBM PC AT), SKY320-PC Digital Signal Processor, MultiModem PC (300/1200 bps modem), Multigraph (high-res monochrome and color graphics adapter for the IBM AT), Bullet-286 (80286-based replacement motheroboard fo the PC-XT), TW-3000 TECwriter (electric typewriter/printer), PortaAPL (APL interpreter written in C), DepoBank (information retrieval service), EasyLink Instant Mail Messenger (EasyLink service software), PC/Survival Kit (utilities for DOS), Excalibur Plus (multi-user accounting system), IMiGIT (color graphics and text editor for the PC-EYE video image grabber board), WYLBUR/pc (development system compatible with mainframes), Rx30 Pharmacy Software System (pharmacy and prescription management system), SoftShell (user interface for UNIX on the PC), and much more.
                        • Club News – A partial directory of PC user groups across the country.
                        • User to User – Questions and answers about finding the size of subdirectories, using commas with integers, getting 50 lines displayed on an RGB monitor, Word Perfect, and more.
                        • PC Tutor – How to define the boot drive with DOS 2.1, change sector size, create simple graphics in CP/M-86 with Pascal on a monochrome monitor, and more.

                        …and more!


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