• Tag Archives OSI

  • Compute! (March 1981)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 10 – March 1981

    Compute! was a popular multi-format magazine that covered various computers throughout its long life which started in 1979 and lasted until the 1990s. Throughout its early life, it strictly covered computers based on the 6502 processor. The March 1981 issue includes:

    Table of Contents

    • The Editor’s Notes – The editor opines on software piracy vs. the right to back-up software that you buy.
    • A 6502 Version of the Winter Consumer Electronics Show: January ’81 – News related to 6502 based computers at the Winter CES. The biggest product introduced that year was the Commodore VIC-20.
    • The Beginner’s Page – Some beginner information about BASIC, operating systems, ROM, RAM and storage media.
    • Computers and Society – A look at communications between user and computer via programming languages. LOGO and PILOT are emphasized while BASIC and PASCAL are also mentioned.
    • Taking the Plunge – Machine Language Programming for Beginners – An introductory guide to machine language on the PET though it is applicable to other machines of the time as well. The differences between BASIC, machine language and assembly code are discussed.
    • Computer Communications Experiments – An article on building an RS-232C interface which can be used for modems and other things.
    • Basics of Light Pen Operation – In the early days of computing, light pens were a fairly common user interface option. This article describes in technical detail how they work.
    • Getting the Most from your Pet Cassette Deck – The kinds of cassettes you should use, how to shorten they time it takes to search for programs, and more.
    • The Mysterious and Unpredictable RND – Part 3 – Part 3 of a multi-part series on random number generation in BASIC on the PET. This part demonstrates a dice rolling program using multiple dice.
    • A CAI Program Called Linear Equation – A type-in program for Computer Aided Instruction of Linear Equations.
    • Hex Conversion Using the 6502’s Decimal Mode – A machine language method for converting to and from hexadecimal numbers.

    The Apple Gazette

    • Clearing the Apple II Low-Resolution Graphics Screen – Several BASIC methods for clearing the screen.
    • Fun with Apple and PASCAL – A type-in PASCAL arcade style shooter game for the Apple II (basically shoot at the falling shapes).
    • Flipping your Disk – A guide to making your single side disks double-sided. Essentially, this could be accomplished just by clipping a notch in the side of the disk that didn’t already have one. This worked for a variety of 8-bit computers. Drives were generally single sided so you still had to flip the disk over to read and write data to the second side.

    The Atari Gazette

    • Designing Your Own Atari Character Sets – Creating custom character sets on the Atari 8-bit.
    • Atari Basic: A Line Renumbering Utility – A type-in utility for renumbering the lines of a BASIC program. This was important sometimes because you could run out of line numbers. Every line of code in basic started with a line number. If you needed to add code in between two lines then there would have to be available numbers to do so. If you were unwise enough to make every line number consecutive, that could be problematic. It was common practice to number lines by 10s (first line is 10 second is 20, etc.). However, you never know when you might need more extra line numbers in between.
    • Atari Memory Dump and Dissassembler – A type-in program that will both dump the contents of memory locations to disk or disassemble lines of code.
    • Formatted Output for Atari BASIC – An article with two subroutines for helping you to produce nicely formatted output from BASIC.
    • Random Color Switching while Idle – A method to prevent Atari’s built-in color switching screen saver from kicking in. Pressing a key resets the time for this but when playing a games, you may not be pressing any keys.

    The OSI Gazette

    • A Small Operating System: OS65D the Kernel – The final part in a series on the OS65D operating system.
    • A Six-Gun Shootout Game for the OSI C1P – A type-in BASIC game that sounds a bit like Outlaw on the Atari 2600.

    The PET Gazette

    • Learning About Garbage Collection – Garbage collection (memory reclamation) was necessary on PET machines with certain ROM revision in order to reclaim memory used by strings. Here are a couple of short routines to do that.
    • PET Machine Language Graphics – A machine language graphics subroutine for the PET that provides a variety of graphics functions.
    • Disk File Recovery Program – A type-in program for the PET that can recover accidentally deleted files.
    • PET Exec Hello – A type-in program for automatically executing commands when booting from disk.
    • A Flexible Input Subroutine – A type-in subroutine in BASIC that can handle various types of input.
    • Universal Tape Append for PET/CBM – A type in program that allows for one program to be appended to another on cassette.

    The SBC Gazette

    • Experimenting with the 6551 ACIA – Information for interfacing, operating and controlling a 6441 ACIA with a 6502. The 6551 is used primarily for communications.
    • A Vocal Hex Dump for the KIM-1 – A program designed to work with a speech synthesizer to speak the data in a given memory location.
    • Expanding KIM Style 6502 Single Board Computers – Part 3 of 3 – The final part in a series on expanding the KIM (and KIM-style) single board computers. Basically a series on how to use the bus expansion connector of these machines.
    • Cassette I/O with AIM-65 BASIC – How to make your BASIC program read and write to/from cassette on the AIM 65.

    New Products

    • New Products – Commodore releases disaster relief software used during the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel on November 22, 1980, Personal Software Inc. releases MicroChess and Checker King for the Atari 400/800, Cimarron Corp. announces Legal Time Accounting (accounts receivable and matter tracking for the legal profession) for the Commodore 8032, Microcomputer Software Inc. releases The Landlord apartment management software for the Apple II, Microware releases Scientific Plotter graph producing software for the Apple II, Axlon announces 32K RAM expansion for the Atari 400/800, and much more.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (August 1981)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    compute_issue_015_1981_aug-001

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 15 – August 1981

    If you happened to be a computer owner in 1981 then Compute! would have definitely been a magazine that you would have wanted to subscribe to. The magazine lasted for more than a decade and in these early days it was exclusively covering 8-bit computers based on the 6502 processor. There were more of these than you might think.

    The August 1981 issue includes:

    • The Editor’s Notes
    • Ask The Readers
    • Computers And Society: Some Speculations On The Well-Played Game, Part II
    • The Beginner’s Page
    • Basically Useful Basic: Checking Randomness Of Random Number Generators
    • Trenton: The Original Computer Festival
    • Basic Oneliners: Minimize Code And Maximize Speed
    • Computer Assisted Instruction – Worth The Effort?
    • Wolves, Caribou, And Other Problems
    • Add A Programmable Sound Generator
    • The Carry Bit – What It Is And How It Works
    • The Floating-Point Division Routine
    • Practical Aspects Of Assembly Language: Part II
    • The Apple Gazette
      • Apple Disk Motor Control
      • Interfacing The Apple To 6500 Family Peripherals
      • A Cassette Tape Monitor For The Apple
      • Diskette Sector Space In A Greeting Program
    • The Atari Gazette
      • Restoring And Updating Data On The Atari
      • Easy Reading Of The Atari Joystick
      • Poem Writer
      • Supercube Update
      • Atari Sound Utility
      • Blockade For The Atari
      • Define A Line On The Atari
    • The OSI Gazette
      • The OSI RS232 Port And The High Speed Printer Interface
    • The Pet Gazette
      • The CBM “Fat 40” – Boon Or Bane?
      • Digital Arrayment
      • Keyword
      • CBM/PET Loading, Chaining And Overlaying
      • Converting Pet Basic Programs To ASCII Files
    • The Single Board Computer Gazette
      • The Single Board 6502
      • Nuts And Volts: Build Your Own Controllers Part II
    • New Products
    • Advertiser’s Index

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Compute! (November 1981)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    compute_issue_018_1981_nov-001

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 18 – November 1981

    Compute! was one of the better multi-format computer magazines of the 1980s (and early 1990s). In 1981, Compute! was focused on computers based on the 6502 CPU. At the time, this included the Commodore PET, Atari 8-bit and Apple II in addition to more obscure entries like the KIM and others. The November 1981 issue includes:

    Table of Contents

    • The Editor’s Notes – Atari educational sales in Minnesota; a preview of the SuperPET coverage in this issue; Recreational Computing merges with Compute!; and more.
    • Computers and Society – Simplifying computer interfaces to make home computers a mass market success.
    • Ask the Reader – Questions asked and answered by readers. Some topics in this issue include interfacing the Vortax Type ‘N Talk speech synthesizer to the Atari 800; graphics modes 9-11 on the Atari 400/800; the Commodore 4010 Voice Synthesizer; sequential file access on the OSI C3; and operating a Commodore 3016 and 3040 floppy drive via a marine 12v battery.
    • Guest Commentary: The Three Laws – Isaac Asimov writes about applying/adapting the Three Laws of Robotics to other things.
    • The Beginner’s Page – An example of creating a database management program in BASIC.
    • Basically Useful BASIC: A Flower Sale Program – A BASIC program written for the PET that keeps track of flower sales for a Cub Scout Den.
    • SuperPET’s Super Software – A look at the University of Waterloo’s design and use of the new Commodore SuperPET, a modification of the existing Commodore PET (8032) that adds a 6809 processor among other enhancements.
    • SuperPET: A Preview – A preview of the new Commodore SuperPET which enhances the original design by adding an additional 64K of RAM, the addition of a 6809 processor, and improvements to the I/O system.
    • Japanese Micros: A First Look – A summary of various computers available in Japan, including the Sharm MZ-80B (Z80A @ 4.7MHz with 64k of RAM), the NEC PC-8000 Series (PD780C-1 CPU @ 4MHz), the Casio FX-9000P (Z80A @ 2.75MHz and up to 32K of RAM), the Fujitsu Micro 8 (dual 6809 processors and 32K of available RAM), the Bubcom 80 (Z80-based with 64K of RAM), and several others.
    • Telecommunications. What is It? – An introduction to how modems work.
    • Bits, Bytes, and Basic Boole – How to use AND, OR, and NOT in BASIC.
    • The Practical Side of Assembly Language Part II: Loops and Arrays – Using loops and arrays in assembly and some of the differences vs. BASIC.
    • Introduction to Binary Numbers, Part 1 – The first part of a guide to binary numbers, including converting from binary to decimal.

    The Apple Gazette

    • An Apple Primer – Using PEEKs, POKEs and CALLs on the Apple II.
    • Page Flipper: Five Hires and Four Lores Pages for the Apple – Storing graphics and text in memory and switching between them.

    The Atari Gazette

    • Atari Data Management/Database System: An Atari Database – A database management system in BASIC to type in for your Atari.
    • A Program for Writing Programs on the Atari 400/800 Computers – This type-in program that will create BASIC statements for you based on a series of questions.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – The first of a multi-part series of interacting with Atari I/O via assembly.
    • Atari Timing Delays – A program for creating a precise timing delay in Atari BASIC.
    • Printing Numbers That Make Cents – A BASIC routine to print consistently formatted numbers, particularly for currency representation.
    • Formatting Input – Two BASIC routines for inputting data via a table.
    • Typing SHOOT – Some hints for typing in programs to reduce the possibility of errors.
    • TextPlot – A type in program for creating graphs that can be labeled.
    • Assembler Update – An update to a type-in program from an earlier issue. This adds SAVE and LOAD commands to Assembler in BASIC.
    • Maypole – A type-in graphics demo using obscure Atari graphics modes.

    The OSI Gazette

    • OSI Relocation Or What’s NEW? – Relocating BASIC programs and using the NEW command on OSI machines.
    • Data Handling – A guide to handling data on the OSI Superboard.
    • Keyboard Conversion Program For The OSI C1P – Dealing with the non-standard keyboard behavior of the OSI C1P and Superboard.

    The PET Gazette

    • COMPUTE! Interview: Kit Spencer, CBM’s New US Marketing Director – Some background on Kit Spencer, differences in marketing between the U.S. and U.K., the future of technology (an LED TV is mentioned) in general and the future of Commodore specifically.
    • COMPUTE! Overview: Power – An overview of POWER which is a ROM chip that plugs into the PET to provide additional BASIC commands.
    • The PET Speaks – A program for the PET that allows it to reproduce speech from audio cassettes.
    • Machine Language: Monitoring Progress – A guide to using the machine language monitor on the PET.
    • Directory For 3.0 – A program for displaying a disk directory from your own program when using BASIC 3.0.
    • Inversion Partitioning – A method of partitioning memory to store more than one BASIC program at a time.
    • A Personal News Service – Converting the PET into a VAX terminal.
    • FOR/NEXT GOSUB/RETURN, And The Stack – A program for examining the stack to help debug issues with loops and GOSUB statements.

    The SBC Gazette

    • Nuts and Volts: Build Your Own Controllers, Part III – Part 3 of an ongoing series about building a controller using a single board computer and using a home computer as a development system.
    • Review: DOS/64 A Disk Operating System (6502 Software) – Using DOS/64 with the KIM.
    • New Products – New products looked at this month include Home Accounting System for the Atari, The Depreciation Planner for the Apple II, an 80 Column adapter for the Commodore PET/CBM, the PEDISK II Floppy Disk System for the Rockwell AIM, Graphics Composer for the Atari 400/800, and more.

    …and more!


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