• Tag Archives Apple II

  • Compute! (August 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute! was a multiformat magazine that covered a variety of popular machines. It was one of the better magazines in this category, especially if you wanted something more home computer oriented and a little less technical than Byte. The August 1987 issue includes:

    Features

    • Compute!’s Readership Survey – A survey for readers that asks questions like what kind of computer you use, what kind of applications, etc. This was used in part to determine coverage in future issues.
    • CES and COMDEX: A Tale of Two Cities – Comparing the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago with COMDEX in Atlanta. Both were big shows for electronics and computer software and hardware.
    • >Climber 5 – A type in game for the Commodore 64, Atari, Amiga, Apple II, and PC in which you must climb to the top of a building to retrieve a baseball while avoiding various obstacles.

    Reviews

    • Bank Street Writer Plus – A word processor for the Apple II line and the IBM PC.
    • Might and Magic – The classic fantasy RPG reviewed here for the Apple II.
    • Space M+A+X – A simulation in which you must make money operating a space station for the IBM PC.
    • Realms of Darkness – Another role-playing game, this one from Strategic Simulations (SSI) for the Apple II and Commodore 64.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Note – Recent advancements in superconductivity and its implications for computing.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Readers write in about the future of 5.25″ disks, checking the CAPS key on the Atari 130XE, the importance of saving a typed-in program before running it, upgrading an Amiga CPU, and more.
    • Computers and Society: The Next Gutenberg Revolution – Desktop publishing becomes more affordable with the introduction of Atari’s laser printer for the ST.
    • The World Inside the Computer: Robert Evans Meets the Xerox 4020 – A look at a new printer from Xerox featuring ink jet technology.
    • Microscope – A look at IBM’s new PS/2 line (an their marketing), and some comparisons with the Atari ST and Amiga.
    • Telecomputing Today: A Conversion Experience – Issues converting an old MacWrite disk to a new system with a utility download coming to the rescue.
    • The Beginner’s Page: Program Loops – A look at GOTO, FOR-NEXT, and WHILE-END loops in BASIC.
    • IBM Personal Computing: What to Do About Junior – The merits of upgrading a PCjr (or lack thereof) vs. getting a whole new PC.
    • AmigaView: All About Icons – Creating your own icons.
    • ST Outlook: Page Flipping – A tutorial for flipping between multiple display screens.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – Graphics: From BASIC to ML – A look at how Atari BASIC converts graphics commands to machine language.

    The Journal

    • 64 Eighty – A type-in program that will give you an 80-column display on the Commodore 64. A similar software trick was used in a terminal program I used back in the day. It’s not as high quality as a genuine 80-column displays (the C64s native display is 40 columns) but it was pretty good.
    • BASIC Batch Files with Atari DOS – How to execute BASIC commands (or other things) upon startup.
    • Math Graphics for Atari ST – A couple of type-in graphics demos for the ST.
    • Compress and Decompress – A couple of type-in utilities for compressing and decompressing high-res graphics files on the Apple II.
    • Fractal Mountains for Amiga – A type-in program that will generate fractal graphics on the Amiga.
    • Pop-Up ASCII Table for IBM – A type-in utility that runs in the background and will give you a pop-up ASCII table on a keypress.
    • XpressCard Filing System for the Commodore 64 – A type-in database program for the C64.
    • ML Relocator – A type-in machine language utility that will let you move ML programs around in memory that normally need to use the same memory space.
    • SoftSprite – A type-in machine language routine that adds commands to BASIC that allow you to quickly move shapes around the screen.
    • The Power of ON-GOTO and ON-GOSUB – A tutorial for using the conditional ON-GOTO and ON-GOSUB commands in BASIC on the Atari (and most other machines with BASIC).
    • Chaining Programs in Applesoft BASIC – A tutorial for calling one program from another.
    • The 128’s CHAR Statement – A detailed look into the BASIC CHAR statement on the Commodore 128 by Jim Butterfield.
    • Comparing BASIC Programs – A type-in BASIC program for the PC that will compare two BASIC programs and report any differences. So basically a diff program for BASIC.
    • News and Products – Life Simulation 100 is a sim of possible consequences based on various choices; Diskette Manager Plus 1.1 and Diskette Manager II disk manager for the PC; Time Scrolls for the Mac reports on what happened the day you were born; Up Periscope and Sentry games for the Commodore 64; and much more.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (June 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was my favorite video game magazine of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some of the key people responsible for the original Electronic Games magazine were involved with VG&CE. It eventually evolved into Tips & Tricks which wasn’t really my cup of tea. The June 1990 issue of VG&CE includes:

    Features

    • Total Recall: Acclaim Brings Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Film Role to Video-Game Screens – A detailed look at this NES game based on the movie of the same name. Like most licensed games, this one wasn’t great though I suppose it was better than some. It definitely has the nostalgia factor going for it.
    • Behind the Scenes at the Nintendo World Championships in Dallas – The Nintendo World Championship had to be just about the height of the NES era. It was sort of a case of life imitating art as The Wizard had just been released in theaters the year before.
    • Batman Strategy Guide, Part I – The first part of a detailed strategy guide for Batman: The Video Game for the NES. While licensed games are pretty poor the vast majority of the time, this one bucks the trend and was actually a solid game. The game and the movie are probably still my Batman favorites.
    • In Search of the Evil Place: A Player’s Guide to Faxanadu, Part 2 – The second part of a detailed strategy guide for this classic NES adventure game.
    • Computer Country Club – An overview of available golf and tennis games. Some of the golf games looked at here include Accolade’s Mean 18, Hole-In-One (miniature golf), Mini-Putt, World Tour Golf, World Class Leaderboard, Jack Nicklaus’ Greatest 18 Holes of Major Championship Golf, Table Tennis Simulation, Serve & Volley, and others.
    • Computer-Game Strategies – Brief strategy guides for Double Dragon II (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC), Populous (Amiga, IBM PC), and Space Harrier (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC).

    Reviews

    • Video-Game Reviews – Reviews of Heroes of the Lance (NES) – (while I loved the Gold Box series of D&D games, I thought this action oriented game was pretty terrible), Astyanax (NES) – (I actually didn’t care for this one much though it got good reviews), Ninja Gaiden II (NES), Starship Hector (NES), Super C (NES), Pat Riley’s Slammin’ Jammin’ Basketball (Sega Genesis), Neutopia (TurboGrafx-16), Slap Shot (Sega Master System), and Ghostbusters (Sega Genesis).
    • Computer-Game Reviews – Reviews of Tank (Spectrum Holobyte for the IBM PC), Hoyle’s Book of Games (Sierra On-Line for the IBM PC), License to Kill (Domark/Broderbund for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC, and Commodore 64), Sword of the Samurai (Microprose for the IBM PC), The Third Courier (Accolade for the IBM PC), Space Rogue (by Origin for the Apple II, Commodore 64, and IBM PC – I always wanted this one), It Came From the Desert (by Cinemaware for the Amiga, Atari ST, IBM PC), Sands of Fire (by Three-sixty Software for the IBM PC and Macintosh), and Trivial Pursuit (by Parker Brothers for the IBM PC).

    Departments

    • Editor’s Letter – Andy Eddy discusses games based on movies and celebrities in video games.
    • Reader Mail – The letters from readers this month are mostly about Nintendo’s business practices and then current anti-trust issues.
    • Tip Sheet – The inaugural edition of this column includes tips and basic strategies for Kung-Fu Heroes by Culture Brain for the NES.
    • News Bits – Joe Montana signs deal with Sega, new add-on for A-10 Tank Killer, Defender of the Crown creator developing Centurion: Defender of Rome, Atari opens up direct phone line for orders of Atari Lynx and Portfolio products, new newsletter for Amiga gamers, Commodore to market games machine based on Amiga 500, and much more.
    • Easter Egg Hunt – Hidden features and secrets in Double Dragon II (NES), Golden Axe (Genesis), Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis), and Fighting Street (TurboGrafx-16).
    • Destination Arcadia – A look at new games shown at the 1990 Acme Show in Chicago including DJ Boy from American Sammy, WWF Superstars from Technos, Klax from Atari, AmeriDarts from Ameri Corporation, Four Trax from Atari, Badlands from Atari, Metal Hawk from R. H. Belam, Capcom Bowling from Capcom, Buster Bros. from Capcom, Mercs from Capcom, Final Fight from Capcom, Vapor Trail from Data East, Too Crude – Double Dragon from Data East, Rai Den from Irem, Dragon Breed from Irem, R-Type II from Irem, Toki from Irem, Aliens from Konami, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Konami, Off Road from Leland, Trog from Bally/Midway, PlayChoice from Nintendo, Fire Shark from Romstar, Beast Busters from SNK, Neo-Geo System from SNK, Line of Fire from Sega, M.V.P. from Sega, Cadash from Taito, and lots more.
    • Inside Gaming – A look at who might win the upcoming video game battle between Nintendo, Sega, and NEC.
    • Game Doctor – Questions answered about music on the SMS, the NES expansion port, the TurboGrafx-16 CD-ROM add-on, transferring files between an Apple II and IBM PC, and more.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Amiga Apple ][ Atari ST Commodore 64 Computer Arcana DOS Nintendo (NES) Retro Games Sega Genesis Sega Master System TurboGrafx-16 📎and tagged

  • Compute! (March 1986)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 70 – March 1986

    Compute! was an excellent magazine that covered most popular computers of the time. I was partial to the spin-off Gazette because I had a Commodore 64 but this one was excellent as well. It was a little less technical that Byte but all magazines at the time were technical compared to today. The March 1986 issue includes:

    Features

    • The Future of Mass Storage – The future was bright for mass storage. 3.5″ floppies were replacing 5.25″ floppies, Hard drives were becoming affordable, and optical storage for the average user was on the horizon.
    • The Computerized Home – Computerized home automation was a thing long before Alexa. The X-10 interface was the de-facto standard and X-10 modules were available for pretty much any platform.
    • Switchbox – A type-in puzzle game with versions specifically for the Commodore 128, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, PC, and Amiga.
    • SpeedCalc for Atari – A type-in professional quality spreadsheet program for the Atari 8-bit.

    Reviews

    • The Works! – A software package for the Commodore 64 and Apple II that includes 13 programs in the categories of tools, organizers, arts, and learning.
    • Under Fire – A World War II strategy game for the Apple II.
    • M-Disk – Software for creating a RAM Disk on the Atari ST.
    • Atari XM301 Modem – A 300bps direct connect modem for Atari 8-bit computers.
    • EduCalc and NoteCard Maker – A combination of a simplified spreadsheet program and simplified database manager with versions for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and PC (Apple II version reviewed here).
    • Hex – A puzzle/strategy game for the Atari ST.
    • Sylvia Porter’s Personal Financial Planner – This software package includes six programs including Transaction Manager, Budget Manager, Asset/Liability Manager, Balance Sheet, and Financial Planner. The Commodore 64 version is reviewed here with versions also available for the PC and Apple II.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – A comparison of the new Amiga and Atari ST.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Letters from readers about code comments, computers for charity, recording music on the Amiga, and more.
    • HOTWARE – The top five selling software titles in three different categories. In the top places were F-15 Strike Eagle (Entertainment), Typing Tutor III (Education), and Print Shop (Home Management).
    • INSIGHT: Atari – A look at Atari character codes. Atari 8-bit computers used a variant of ASCII called ATASCII.
    • The Beginner’s Page: Cutting Strings Without Scissors – How to split strings in BASIC.
    • Computers and Society: Humanizing the User Interface, Part 1 – Exploring ways to make the user interface easier to use and more intuitive.
    • The World Inside the Computer: Snowflakes, Quilts, and Stained Glass Windows – Art on the Amiga.
    • Telecomputing Today Games Modern People Play – A look at online multiplayer gaming. At the time, that typically meant turn based gaming on BBS systems or services like CompuServe.
    • IBM Personal Computing: The Ultimate Entertainment Center – A guide for using your PC or PCjr with a TV.
    • Programming the TI: IF-THEN Statements – Using IF-THEN statements including examples for simulating AN/OR, doing Algebra, and more.
    • News & Products – Valhalla announced for the Commodore 64; MIDI Ensemble for the PC; AtariWriter and AtariWriter Plus word processors for the Atari ST; What’s Our Worth? home inventory package for the Commodore 64; and more.

    The Journal

    • IBM Fractal Graphics – Three type-in programs for creating fractals on the IBM PC and PCjr.
    • Commodore ML Saver – A type-in program for saving machine language programs directly from memory to disk on the Commodore 64.
    • Loading and Linking Commodore Programs, Part 1 – The first in a series of article on loading, chaining, and overlaying programs on Commodore computers.
    • Atari P/M Graphics Toolkit – Atari Player/Missile graphics is the Atari 8-bit version of sprites. This type-in toolkit makes it easier to develop and use P/M graphics on the Atari.
    • MultiMemory for Commodore 64 and Apple – Short type-in programs for the Commodore 64 and Apple II that allow you to segment memory for loading multiple BASIC programs.
    • Experimenting with SID Sound – Some examples for controlling the Commodore 64’s SID sound chip.
    • Mousify Your Applesoft Programs, Part 1 – The first of a two-part guide to using a mouse (or joystick or paddles) with your own programs.
    • Atari BootStuffer – This short type-in program for the Atari 8-bit allows you to create a menu system to load up to 8 different programs with one key press.
    • Requester Windows in Amiga BASIC – A guide to adding requester windows (dialog boxes) to Amiga BASIC programs.
    • Softkeys for Atari BASIC – This type-in program gives you automatic line numbering and various hotkeys when writing your own BASIC programs.
    • BASIC Sound on the Atari ST – A guide to getting started with creating basic sound effects on your Atari ST.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged