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  • Compute! (February 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 57 – February 1985

    Compute! was a great magazine for those with home computer in the 1980s, at least if you had one that it covered. In 1985 that meant the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, and IBM PC. Many computer magazines were more technically oriented this one but if you were just looking for more typical articles and reviews then it was very solid. It still had type-in programs which was a great way to get software for almost free (minus the cost of the magazine and your time of course). The February 1985 issue includes:

    Features

    • The New Atari: Q & A With Sigmund Hartmann – An interview with Sigmund Hartmann, President of Atari Software, about Atari’s future. On the immediate horizon were new machines including two new Atari 8-bit computers (the Atari 65XE and Atari 130XE) as well as their new 16-bit Atari ST.

    • Fame Games – A look at games using the names of famous authors and stars. Some of these include Amazon (Michael Crichton), Fahrenheit 451, Rendezvous With Rama, Ghostbusters, and many others.

    • Michael Crichton: Reflections Of A New Designer – Michael Crichton discusses the creation of his adventure game Amazon.

    • Birth Of A Computer Game – Game designers Chris Crawford, Jon Freeman, Bill Budge, Bruce Carver, and Dan Bunten discuss their creation process.

    Reviews

    • Dinosaurs – An educational game for preschoolers featuring dinosaurs for the Apple II and Commodore 64.

    • The Syn Series For Atari – A look at SynCalc, SynTrend, and SynFile+ for the Atari 8-bit. SynCalc is a spreadsheet program, SynTrend is a statistics and graphing program, and SynFile+ is a database program.

    • PC-Write Word Processors For PC & PCjr – A low cost shareware word processor capable of running in only 64K on the PC/PCjr.

    Columns And Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – Reflections on the attributes of the perfect computer.

    • Readers’ Feedback – Readers write in about DOS, the need for two disk drives, memory on the Atari 800XL, transferring/translating BASIC programs between Sinclair computers, POKE and PEEK (or the lack thereof) in TI BASIC, and more.

    • The Beginner’s Page – Conditional logic and IF-THEN statements.

    • Programming The TI: Programming Without A Math Background – Knowing a little math is, of course, useful when programming but an advanced degree in mathematics should hardly be a pre-requisite.

    • Machine Language: Multiplication, Part 2 – The second part in a series on multiplying numbers in machine language.

    • Computers And Society – Word processors and their effect on writing.

    • IBM Personal Computing: Inside King’s Quest – A look at how King’s Quest was made. Incidentally, this game was created as a result of IBM asking Sierra to develop a game that would show off the color graphics of the PCjr.

    • INSIGHT: Atari – A BASIC benchmark for the Atari.

    • Telecomputing Today – Using a “lap computer” with a modem while traveling for business and pleasure, the latest updates on information services including CompuServe, Dow Jones News/Retrieval, and The Source, as well as a look at two new services, People/Link and Play/Net.

    The Journal

    • Acrobat – A type-in game for the Atari, Commodore 64 and VIC-20 in which you must use various acrobatic moves to make your way through various environments and obstacles.

    • Plus/Term For VIC & 64 – A type-in terminal program for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 with 1200bps support.

    • Adding Sound Effects To Atari – Five short type-in programs for generating various sounds on the Atari.

    • How TurboTape Works – TurboTape is a program that speeds up loading programs from tape that was published in the previous issue. This article explains how it works.

    • IBM Rebound: All Machine Language Game For PC & PCjr – A type-in game for the IBM PC and PCjr that is similar to breakout.

    • Apple Bowling Champ – A type-in bowling game for the Apple II for up to four players.

    • Advanced Sound Effects On The 64 – Includes a type-in program for experimenting with different sounds without programming.

    • News & Products – New printers including the Riteman LQ and Riteman Plus; Work Force II home applications package for the Apple II; new games for Atari and Commodore including Market Forces, Break Street, and more; memory expansion for the Atari 600XL; and more.

    …and more!


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

  • PC World (September 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – September 1985

    PC World was one of the most popular PC specific magazines from the 1980s through the 1990s and beyond. I didn’t even have my Commodore 64 yet it 1985 but if I had a PC, I probably would have been getting this magazine. The September 1985 issue includes:

    Getting Started

    • Theory PC – The difficulty of communication via PC and how to make the PC universal.
    • From Here to Mainframe (and Back) – How to use a PC to communicate with a mainframe.

    Community

    • The PC as Innovator – The quantum leap in productivity that the PC offers as well as its economic potential.
    • Copying Software: Who’s Right? – PC World readers chime in on software piracy.
    • Cautious Capital – Where venture capitalist are putting their money in the context of the personal computer shakeout following the frenzy of 1981-1983.

    Review

    • The Personal Connection – How computers have gone from being seen as rather Orwellian (perhaps still an accurate view) to fundamental tools of social communion.
    • Reflex: Analysis With Finese – A review of Reflex from Analytica, a software data analysis software package inspired by Lotus 1-2-3 and the Macintosh.
    • Ready to Run Accounting – Ready-to-Run Accounting is a general ledger template for Lotus 1-2-3 and offers an inexpensive accounting solution.
    • Enable: Compact and Capable – A five function integrated software package that includes word processing, spreadsheet, data management, graphics, and telecommunications components.
    • And the Word Is Good – Verson 2.0 of Microsoft Word.

    State of the Art

    • Asimov Ponders PCs – Sci-Fi author Isaac Asimov writes about the increasing intelligence of computers.
    • Experts on Call – Expert Systems provide solutions or predictions based on facts.

    Hand On

    • A Model for Peaceful Coexistence – The PC’s place in corporations.
    • Dress Up Your Documents – Creating fancy documents with the typesetting capabilities of word processing software like Microsoft Word and WordStar and laser printers.
    • A New Way to Frame Projects – Using Frameword o set up a simple scheduling system.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell – Proof that unauthorized copies of software (i.e. pirated copies) sell software.
    • Ken Greenberg – The PC’s trend towards business applications.
    • John C. Dvorak – Dvorak ponders whether the computer books and bookstores and software distribution channels is a dying trend. I remember buying Ace of Aces for my Commodore 64 at a Waldenbooks…
    • Letters – Readers write in about mainframes, the virtual device interface, data management software, and more.
    • PC World View – How Vannevar Bush predicted the personal computer in something he called the “memex”; probate software; new PC clones; and more.
    • The Help Screen – Tips for automatic plotting, converting LaserJet escape codes into DOS commands, transferring text files from the Apple II to the PC; and more.
    • From the Software Shelf – PC World’s first impressions of software including Executive Writer/Executive Filer, The Art of Negotiating, TallScreen, and pfs:access.
    • Password: Communicate – On-line queries using Dialog vs. gateway services; the fallout from a Los Angeles BBS operator getting charged for having a stolen telephone-credit card number on his BBS; Hayes starts selling Smartmodem 1200 in the U.K.

    …and more!


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  • Digital Archaeology: Gateway NV57H

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The Gateway NV57H is an i3-2310M based laptop. As such, it certainly isn’t “vintage” and it would be stretching things quite a bit to even call it “retro”. It’s really just kind of old. It dates back to circa 2012. This is well after Acer bought them and was basically using the name to rebadge Acer’s low to mid-range hardware.

    The model number, like most, is pretty indecipherable. The hardware includes:

    • CPU: Intel i3-2310M @ 2.1 GHz
    • RAM: 4 GB DDR3
    • Video: Intel
    • Hard Drive: 300 GB
    • Screen: 1366×768

    For more complete hardware specs, check out the output from HardInfo.

    I was a huge fan of Gateway back in the day. Before they were bough by Acer. Before they bought E-Machines. Before then, they made some pretty good hardware. After that, it was pretty generic stuff. Not necessarily bad for what you were paying but nothing that really stood out from the crowd either. Today, you can still buy Gateway laptops in Wal-Mart. But again, these are just rebadged machines from other makers. Gateway hasn’t made anything in a long time.

    I assume this laptop was designed for the budget minded consumer. It has no discrete GPU and otherwise pretty average/lowish-end stats for the time. If you were buying this machine it was because it was the best deal at the time or because you liked how it looked (I do kind of like the red color). It certainly wasn’t for the high-end specs or unique features.

    There’s nothing wrong with a budget laptop if it meets your needs. My biggest problem with them is that cheap laptops tend to have cheap screens. For instance, this one only has a resolution of 1366×768. For a machine you are going to use a lot, a higher resolution screen is a huge benefit, even when this one was made.

    Obviously, this laptop isn’t useful for gaming. The 4 GB of RAM is enough for Windows 7 (which it shipped with), Windows 8, or Windows 10 if you are a bit of a masochist. It runs Linux fairly well (I have it running Xubuntu currently). Also, you should be able to upgrade it to 8 GB of RAM. This would be beneficial for any 64-bit OS and it would help Window 10 significantly. The other major upgrade you could do is to replace the hard drive with an SSD. With those two upgrades it would be quite useable in a modern environment (with the exception that you can’t install Windows 11).

    One problem I’ve notice with my particular machine is that the CPU throttles under heavy load. This could either be because of poor thermal design or because the heatsink is clogged with dust on the back side. I haven’t taken it apart yet to check…looks like it might be a pain to disassemble.

    Despite the throttling, I have this laptop running BOINC like I do with all of the hardware I use. It can do work for pretty much any project and so far it has returned work units for Einstein@home, MilkyWay@home, Asteroids@home and World Community Grid. You can see how it is doing overall at FreeDC.


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