• Tag Archives Commodore 128

  • RUN: The Commodore 64/128 User’s Guide (April 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    RUN was perhaps my favorite computer magazine. It was dedicated to Commodore 8-bit computers which primarily meant the Commodore 64 and 128. Things were definitely winding down commercially for the Commodore 64 in 1990 but a few major games were still coming out and RUN would be published for a couple more years. The April 1990 issue includes:

    Features

    • Bach to the Future – A look at software and hardware for creating music with your Commodore. Products here include The Music Studio, The SID Symphony Stereo Cartridge, Music Construction Set, Enhanced Sidplayer, and more.
    • 128 BASIC Enhancers – A type-in program to add four new commands to BASIC on the Commodore 128.
    • Doing The Alphabet Shuffle – A type-in sliding letter game in which you must get the letters in order as quickly as possible.
    • Alien Strike – A type in game that is similar to games like Space Invaders and Galaga.
    • Basic Dater – A type-in utility for the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 that automatically tags your BASIC programs with the date and time they are saved.
    • Connex – A type-in Tetris-like game for the Commodore 128.

    Departments

    • RUNning Ruminations – A report from the Consumer Electronics Show. Fifty new games were planned for the Commodore 64 in 1990. At the time, it was still the second largest computer game market behind DOS.
    • Magic – Short type-in programs for creating a bouncing title, generating multicolored lights along the boarder of the screen, creating colorful text, and more.
    • News and New Products – Upcomig games (and other stuff) include Ghostbusters II, Beyond Dark Castle, Grave Yardage, Face Off, Power Drift, Batman: The Movie, The Untouchables, Pro Tennis Tour, Iron Lord – The Crusader of Justice, Pipe Drea, My Grand Piano, Bowling Alley, School Bus Driver, I Can Remember, Firehouse Rescue, Perfect Fit, Castlevania, Double Dribble, Blades of Steel, Super C, The Muscle Cars, Heat Wave Offshore Superboat Racing, and more.
    • Mail RUN – Letters from readers about Personal Ancestor File for the C-128, software for the Commodore 128 mouse, the Sears SR-2000 printer, and more.
    • Software Gallery – Reviews of Aussie Games (Australian themed sports), Empire (a strategy game), Space Rogue (start your career in space as a merchant marine – I always wanted this one), Life Force (the classic side-scrolling shooter), Time To Die (a mystery adventure game), Thud Ridge (an apparently terrible combat flight game), Superman (a comic book adventure), Dark Side, Zero Gravity, License To Kill (based on the James Bond Movie), and Heroes of the Lance (this action game is not nearly as good as the Gold Box RPG series).
    • Gold Mine – Game tips for Arkanoid, Batman, BattleTech, Caveman Ugh-Lympics, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Double Dragon, Double Dragon II, Grand Prix Circuit, Hillsfar, Impossible Mission II, Test Drive II, Sim City, Times of Lore, Wasteland, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and more.
    • 128 Mode – A guide to the Commodore 128’s Directory command.
    • geoWatch – A look at hardware useful for enhancing your GEOS experience including various printers, GEORAM 512, the Right Time cartridge, JiffyDOS, CMD’s RAMLink, and more.
    • Commodore Clinic – Questions answered a Commodore 128 glitch, 1571 disk drive problems, 1571 disk drive alignment, sharing a printer, and more.

    …and more!


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  • RUN: The Commodore 64/128 User’s Guide (May 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    RUN was one of the Commodore 64 related magazines that I bought back in the day. However, I didn’t start buying it until pretty late in its life. Instead, I mostly picked up Commodore Magazine when I had the chance and switched to RUN when Commodore Magazine ceased publication. The May 1988 issue of RUN includes:

    • RUNning Ruminations – How the Commodore 64 has aged better than some PC models.
    • Magic – Short programming tricks for highlighting BASIC line numbers, rotating a box in ultra hi-res mode on the Commodore 128, partitioning disks on the 1581 drive, and more.
    • News and New Products – New games including Card Sharks, The Train: Escape to Normandy, Power at Sea, The Hunt for Red October, BattleDroids, The Rubicon Alliance, Global Commander, The Games: Winter Edition, Death Sword, 4×4 Offroad Racing, Impossible Mission II, Sporting News Baseball, L.A. Crackdown, Star Rank Boxing II, Land of Legends, Galactic Invasion, The Faery Tale Adventure, Black Jack Academy, Plasmatron, and more.
    • Mail Run – Readers write in about discontinued Commodore PC clones, GEOS clip art, Canadian word processors, save-with-replace bug, CP/M, the Okidata 180 printer, Gunship, and more.
    • Software Gallery – Reviews of Deja Vu, Instant Music, Apollo 18, Darkhorn, Halls of Montezuma, Cholo, Dark Lord, and Strategist.
    • Goto Programming – A guide to programming from Jim Butterfield.

      • A Basic Adventure – A guide to handling the data needed for programming your own adventure game.
    • The Assembly Line – A guide to assemblers on the Commodore 64/128.
    • Graphix to the Max – A type-in program for converting 40-column graphical displays to 80-column on the Commodore 128.
    • Drip-Drop – A type-in game for the Commodore 64 in which you must use buckets to catch raindrops.
    • Moving Messages – A type-in program for the Commodore 64 that lets you scroll large messages across the screen.
    • Tick-Tock 128 – A type-in program for the Commodore 128 that displays a 12-hour analog clock.
    • geoWatch – The new geoSpell plus tips from readers including tips for installing geoWrite, creating more space on workdisks, removing unwanted files, solving disk errors, converting files to Doodle!, and more.
    • Telecomputing Workshop – A comparison of Q-Link and GEnie prices.
    • Commodore Clinic – Questions answered about GEOS 128, using the 4040 disk drive with a Commodore 64, resetting the Commodore 64 programmatically, slowing down screen output, and more.
    • Mega-Magic – A short program to delete and save a new version of a file with one command.

    …and more!


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  • Info (November/December 1986)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Info is a magazine that covered Commodore computers. At the end of 1986 that included the Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and Amiga. Info wasn’t as widely available as some other Commodore magazines though it was still fairly popular. It was also produced using Commodore computers (the Amiga at this time). The November/December 1986 issue includes:

    Departments

    • Editor’s Page – On upcoming changes to the magazine.
    • Reader Mail – Letters from readers about PC emulation for the Amiga, memory expansion for the Amiga, and more.
    • Rumor Mill – Rumors about new Ashton-Tate software for the Amiga, Microsoft Word ports, Lotus for the Amiga, two new Amiga models, and more.
    • News & Views – Commodore computer fair in New England, the new Apple IIgs, Ashton Tate removes copy protection from their software, Mindscape acquires Scarborough Systems, TPUG Magazine ceases publication, Supra acquires Cardco, Commodore has new vice president, Commodore posts first profit in 18 months, QuantumLink charges extra for e-mail, and much more.
    • New Products – A look at new product releases including The Epyx 500XJ joystick, Writer’s Workshop (C64/GEOS), Sampler-64 Commodore 64 sound sampler, World Geography (C64), LINCAD linear circuit analysis and design software for the C64, Term Paper Writer (C128), Amiga APL Interpreter, DisKwik (Amiga), Kwik Speak 1 (Amiga), Nancy spell checker for the Amiga, AmeriNet Ethernet Controller for the Amiga, Alegra 512K memory upgrade for the Amiga, and more.
    • Copy Corner – A look at memory snapshot programs which take a snaphot of a program exactly as it is in memory and saves it to disk to be reloaded later. Some programs include Isepic, Snapshot, Capture, and The Power Cartridge.
    • Network Wars – A look at modems for the Commodore 64 and Amiga, 300 baud vs. 1200 baud, Xmodem transfers, and more. Some specific modems looked at here include the Avatex 1200, Password 1200 from U.S. Robotics, CTS 2424ADS Datacomm, SmartTEAM 103/212A, and Novation 2400 Professional

    Features

    • Info Special Report On Graphics – A look at some of the graphics software available on the C64 and Amiga including Flexidraw (C64), Doodle! (C64), Micro Illustrator (C64), Graphics Magician (C64), Picasso’s Revenge (C64), Deluxe Paint (Amiga), AEGIS Images (Amiga), Graphicraft (Amiga), Flexifont (C64), Icon Factory (C64), Graphics Integrator (C64), Graphic Conversion C64, ART PAK I (Amiga), Grabbit/Anytime (Amiga), Dpaint Art & Utility (Amiga), CAD-3D (C64), Perspectives II (C64), Aegis Draw and Aegis Draw Plus (Amiga), PCLO, Dynamic CAD (Amiga), Movie Maker (C64), Cyber Video (C64), Gary Kitchen’s Gamemaker (C64), Print Shop (C64), Print Master (C64), The Newsroom (C64), Aegis Animator (Amiga), Deluxe Video (Amiga), Impact! (Amiga), Deluxe Print (Amiga), Computereyes (C64), Digi-View (Amiga), and more.
    • Idea Processors – Outline processors for creating scripts, stories, etc. Some of the products looked at here include Flow (Amiga), BrainTrust 128 (C128), Out-Think (C128 CP/M), and Thoughtform (C64).

    C64

    • Down to Business – The second and last part in a series on word processors for the Amiga, Covered here are Timework’s Word Writer, Easy Script, Wordpro 64, Fleet System 2, Superscript, Pocket Writer 64, and Bank Street Writer.
    • 64 Notes – Using DOS Wedge commands from your BASIC programs, plus how to change your background, border, and text colors and scrolling text.
    • FSD-1 – A look at one of the better 1541 disk drive clones along with some warnings about using a non-1541 as your primary drive (mostly related to copy protection).
    • GEOS – A look at this graphical operating system for the Commodore 64.
    • MIMIC Spartan – The Apple II emulator for the Commodore 64 that basically included the hardware of the Apple II+.
    • Lottery Programs – Includes a type-in BASIC program for generating lottery numbers.

    C128

    • 128 Notes – How to control whether you are printing to the 40 Column or 80 column screen, improving the F2 preprogrammed DLOAD command, and creating music easily in BASIC on the C128.
    • Comal Superchip – A 16K ROM extension for the COMAL 2.0 cartridge that adds various improvements.
    • Big Blue Reader – This software allows you to read and translate MS-DOS disks on a Commodore 128 with 1571 disk drive.
    • Partner 128 – A cartridge that provides various pop-up utilities and should be compatible with most Commodore 128 software.

    Amiga

    • Amiga Notes – A trick to save memory, Amiga controllers, CLI shortcuts, bad 8520 ACIA chips, using keyboard shortcuts instead of a mouse, and more.
    • Micro Forge Hard Drive – A review of this $1580+ 20 megabyte external SCSI hard drive for the Amiga. This was one of the only early hard drives available for the Amiga.
    • Sound Advice – Creating and editing digital samples on the Amiga, including a look at some of the hardware and software available. Digitizers and associated software looked at here include MicroGraphics Digitizer, Micro Forge Stereo Sound Digitizer, and SoundScape Sound Sampler.
    • Closeup: Deluxe Video – A detailed look at this software for creating animation on the Amiga.

    …and more!


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