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  • Compute!’s Gazette (February 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute!’s Gazette was one of the most popular Commodore 64 magazines and 1987 was quite possibly the Commodore 64’s peak year. The February 1987 issue of Gazette includes:

    Features

    • Deciding on the Right Printer – Features to consider when deciding on the right printer for you.
    • A 1987 Buyer’s Guide to Printers – Features are compared for tons of printers including the Aprotek Daisy 1120, Blue Chip 120/NLQ, Brother HR-20, C. Itoh Prowriter C-215XP, Canon A-50, Citizen 120D, Commodore MIPS 1200, and dozens of others.
    • Printing Commodore Graphics – A guide to printing Commodore graphics with various printing modes, interfaces, and non-Commodore printers. Includes some programming examples.

    Reviews

    • Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? – One of the most iconic educational games ever made.
    • Macbeth – An adventure game based on the Shakespeare play.
    • PaperClip II – A popular word processor with a 38,000 word spell checker that can be expanded.
    • Ace of Aces – The classic World War II flight sim from Accolade. This was one of the games I bought for my Commodore 64
    • Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth – While most licensed games aren’t very good, this one was produced by Activision and is better than average.

    Games

    • Collision Course – A type-in racing game in which you must clear a course of dots before the computer controlled car runs into you.
    • Pick-A-Letter – A type-in word game somewhat similar to Hangman but with some enhancements. For the Commodore 64/128, Plus/4 and C-16.

    Education/Home Applications

    • Division Worksheet – This type-in program creates math worksheets with division problems.
    • Computing for Families: Light! Computers! Action! – Training teachers to use personal computers to enhance videos for educational use.

    Programming

    • Hints & Tips: Replacing Arrays – Some tips for using arrays and alternatives in BASIC.
    • Power BASIC: Sanitation Engineer – A type-in machine language program that speeds up garbage collection.
    • MetaBASIC: The Programmer’s Assistant – A type-in enhancement for BASIC that was previously published by Gazette. A Plus version is included that has 11 new commands as well as a Commodore 128 version.
    • Mastering 128 Sound and Music, Part 5 – The final part of this long running series provides advice on different methods of transcribing music written for three or more voices.
    • 128 Wedge – A type-in utility to make it easier to use a 1541 or 1571 disk drive with the Commodore 128.
    • Data Formatting on the 64 – Some short programs for formatting data by performing such actions as rounding and right justification of numbers.
    • BASIC for Beginners: IF-THEN – A tutorial and some examples using IF-THEN.
    • Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag – Answering a few machine language related questions from readers.

    Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – Commodore introduces the PC10-1 PC clone to the U.S. market.
    • Gazette Feedback – Letters from readers about screen formatting, finding free disk blocks, 1571 bugs, upgrading CP/M, and more.
    • Horizons: Art or Science? – Pondering whether programming is an art or a science.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Commodore 64 Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Compute!’s Gazette (March 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute!’s Gazette was a spin-off of Compute! magazine that exclusively covered Commodore 8-bit computers (mostly the Commodore 64). It was probably one of the two most popular Commodore 64 magazines with RUN being the other one. The March 1987 issue includes:

    Features

    • The Commodore Graphics Connection – The Commodore 64 had perhaps the most advanced graphics of any 8-bit home computer. In fact, the VIC-II graphics chip (along with the SID sound chip) were originally conceived as the basis for a new video game machine.
    • A Buyer’s Guide to Commodore Graphics Progams – A brief overview of some of the many graphics applications available for the Commodore 64. Some of the titles mentioned here include Blazing Paddles (drawing and painting program), Cadpak-64 and Cadpak-128 (computer-aided design package), Certificate Maker (design and printing program), Chartpak-64 and Chartpak-128 (for creating pie, bar and line charts), ColorMe: The Computer Coloring Kit (introductory drawing package for kids), Desk Pack I (includes Graphics Grabber which converts clip-art from Print Shop, Print Master, and Newsroom to GEOS), Doodle (high res drawing program), Flexidraw Light Pen Graphics, Version 5 (advanced graphics and light-pen package), and many more.
    • The Fundamentals of Commodore Graphics – An introduction to the Commodore 64’s array of graphics modes and features.

    Reviews

    • The Commodore 1670 Modem – While the Commodore 64 could use most standard external modems with an adapter, Commodore’s 1670 Modem (1200bps) was an inexpensive modem that could connect directly to the user port.
    • Alter Ego and Mind Mirror – Alter Ego is ‘what if’ fantasy role playing game from Activision while Mind Mirror was designed in part with Timothy Leary (published by Electronic Arts) and is a little harder to classify.
    • Trinity – The latest in interactive fiction from Infocom. In this text adventure you must, in part, survive a nuclear holocaust.

    Games

    • Tile Trader – A type-in puzzle game in which you must slide the tiles around to get them in the correct order.
    • Ringside Boxing – A type-in two player arcade style boxing game.

    Education/Home Applications

    • Color Craft – A type-in art program for the Commodore 64.
    • Computing for Families: Beyond the Desktop – Soap Bubbles, Forests, and Hot-Air Balloons – Metaphors, other than the Desktop, to make computers easier to use.

    Programming

    • RAM Expansion for the Commodore 128 – A guide to using the new 1700 (128K) and 1750 (512K) ram expansions on the Commodore 128.
    • Using RAM Expansion With CP/M – A guide to using RAM expansion when using the Commodore 128’s CP/M mode.
    • Text Sequencer – A type-in machine language program that can be used from within your own BASIC programs to print sequential files to the screen 15 times faster than with BASIC alone.
    • Sprite Manager – A type-in sprite designer, editor, and animator for the Commodore 64.
    • RAM Plus – A type-in machine language routine that can free up an additional 4K of RAM for BASIC programs.
    • CP/M PIP on the Commodore 128 – A detailed look at using CP/M’s PIP command on the Commodore 128. This command can be used for file copying among other things.
    • Custom Keys – A couple of type-in utility programs that let you redefine the Commodore 64’s keyboard.
    • ROM Enhancer – A short machine language program that offers improvements to BASIC 2.0.
    • Power BASIC: 128 Partitioner – A type-in program that allows you to load up to four independent programs in to BASIC at once on the Commodore 128.
    • BASIC for Beginners: More on IF-THEN – Part two of a guide on using IF statements.
    • Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag – Questions answered from readers about learning machine language, using flags, and more.
    • Hints & Tips: Useful WAITS – A guide to effectively using Commodore BASIC’s WAIT statement.

    Departments

    • The Editor’s Note – Reprinted from the February issue of Compute!.
    • Gazette Feedback – Letters from readers about printing biorhythms, disk problems, using exponents in BASIC, and more.
    • Simple Answers to Common Questions – Questions answered about using an Apple disk drive with a Commodore 64, fixing disk drive alignment issues, and more.
    • Horizons: What Is Memory? – A look at how memory works on the Commodore 64.
    • News & Products – Accountant, Inc. for the Commodore 128, 128K ROMDISK with Hyperboot for the Commodore 64 and 128, Killed Until Dead from Accolade, and more.

    …and more!


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