• Tag Archives PC

  • PC World (November 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    PC World was probably the best general PC specific magazine (though I preferred Boot/Maximum PC when it came along much later). The late 1980s and early 1990s were probably peak for PC World, at least in terms of page count. The November 1988 issue of PC World includes:

    Review

    • LAN E-Mail: Power to the Work Group – A look at four LAN e-mail packages including cc:Mail 1.2, The Network Courier 1.0, InBox/PC 1.24, and Da Vinci eMail 1.2.
    • In Search of Forgotten Text – A look at four programs for searching for text on your hard drive including ZyIndex Professional 3.0, Memory Lane 2.0, SearchExpress 2.30, Gofer 1.0, and The Text Collector 1.5.
    • Project Management – For Professional Only – A comparison of five project management packages including SuperProject Expert 1.1, Time Line 3.0, Micro Planner 6, Harvard Total Project 2.0, and Microsoft Project 4.0.
    • Multitasking Without OS/2 – A look at four operating environments that are alternatives to OS/2 for multitasking. They use the virtual 8086 mode of the 80386. These operating environments include Windows/386 2.1, Desqview 2.01, VM/386 1.1, and PC-MOS/386 2.10.
    • The Hardware Shelf – Reviews of: The Micro 1 Tower 386-20MHz featuring a 20 MHz 386 CPU, 2 MB RAM, and 110 MB hard drive for $4424; SnapShot, an “image processing system” capable of capturing images from video sources such as video cameras, VCRs, live TV broadcasts, etc.; HP PaintJet (a color inkjet printer), Zoom HC 2400 (internal 2400bps modem), and Panasonic KX-P4450 Laser Printer.
    • The Software Shelf – Reviews of: Sprint 1.0 (word processor), VP-Planner Plus 2.0 (spreadsheet), PFS: First Publisher 2.0 (desktop publishing), GrandView 1.0 (personal information manager), EasyCAD 2 2.05, and HB-Browser (utility for previewing spreadsheet and word processor files).

    News

    • Top of the News – Clone makers challenge IBM’s micro channel architecture with EISA; IBM introduces 386 based PS/2 Model 30; postscript capabilities to be added to HP’s LaserJet; Ashton-Tate releases dBASE compiler; Compaq introduces laptop and the smaller footprint Deskpro 386/20E; and more.
    • Preview – A first look at new 386 and 286 based laptops including the NEC ProSpeed 80386, ProSpeed 80286, and UltraLite, Compaq SLT 286. Plus an early looks at the Compaq 386/20E.
    • Industry Outlook – Oracle’s SQL; more PS/2 clones unlikely; Peachtree reintroduces accounting software; and more.
    • Product Outlook – A look at new products including SuperCalc (spreadsheet), Fast Talk (communications program), The Picture File (art program), SmallTalk/V 286 (programming), Paragon 286V (PC), 386 Motherboard/AT (386 motherboard upgrade from Hauppage for PC ATs) and more.
    • Briefly Noted – A brief look at new machines from Tandy including the 3000 NL, 1000 TL, and 1000 SL.

    Feature

    • Beyond E-Mail: The Groupware Potential – A new type of network software includes features such as conference calls, electronic meetings, and more.
    • OS/2 Extends Its Reach – OS/2 Extended Edition adds additional networking and communications features.
    • Buyers’ Guide: Accounting Tools of the Trades – A round-up of a ton of accounting software packages including one specialized for point-of-sale, construction, medical, and more.

    How To

    • How Hard Is Your Money Working? – A guide to determining your return on investment and if your investments are performing sufficiently.

    Perspectives

    • Richard Landry – The industry standard EISA bus strikes back against IBM’s proprietary MCA architecture.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about IBM’s licensing, shareware, the future of computers, PagePerfect problems, Epson dot-matrix printers, and more.
    • David Bunnell – The customers’ relationship to software companies.
    • Stewart Alsop – A look at the various GUIs available with an emphasis on Microsoft’s Presentation Manager.
    • On IBM – A look at what IBM can learn from its “successes”, including the PS/2.
    • Another Angle – Cutting through the jargon of the PC industry.

    Departments

    • Consumer Watch – Even back in the day, unscrupulous vendors would misleadingly overclock systems. For example, it was not uncommon for a vendor to sell 25 MHz 386 that was really an overclock 20 MHz part.
    • The Upgrade Path – A look at a device called the Chargecard that plugs into the CPU socket between the CPU and motherboard of a 286 based system to allow it to address up to 16MB of RAM.
    • The Help Screen – Answers to questions about tape backup drives, twisted pair cables, keyboards and the cent symbol, .BAK files, cleaning floppy drives, and more.
    • Tech Notes – A guide to how multitasking works in OS/2.
    • Sourcebooks – Reviews of Alfred Glossbrenner’s Master Guide to CompuServe and Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams.

    …and more!


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  • PC Magazine (August 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The IBM PC was a year old when this issue of Pc Magazine was on the stands. Going by page count, which was over 225 pages for this issue, there was already a ton of advertising behind PC products. The August 1982 issue of PC Magazine includes:

    PC Interview

    • An Interview with VisiCalc Entrepreneur Daniel Fylstra – A look at the history of VisiCalc and VisiCorp.

    Business

    • The More PCs the Merrier – IBM offers discounts on very large purchases (in the hundres or thousands of units).

    Events

    • NCC Roundup – A look at what was to be seen at the National Computer Conference in Houston, Texas.
    • Of Camesl and Tents – A look back at the past five years of the NCC and personal computing.

    Finance

    • How Much Are You Really Worth? – Calculating your net worth with a PC and spreadsheet.

    Software

    • Calc Wars – Testing SuperCalc and comparing it to VisiCalc.
    • The Challenger: Multiplan – A review of Multiplan, Microsoft’s new spreadsheet program.

    Marketplace

    • Mega Forces Unite – Sears introduces 45 new business centers with the IBM PC as the lead item.

    Operating Systems

    • The Bithood Question – 8- vs. 16- vs. 32-bit CPUs.
    • IBM Updates DOS to 1.10 – DOS 1.10 added features such as the ability to handle dual-sided 320K disk drives, improved disk I/O speed, improved copy and dir commands, and more.

    PC profile

    • The Computer that’s Literally for the Birds – How one ornithologist uses a custom database program and VisiCalc to keep track of bird data.

    Communications

    • PC-Talk – A free communications program for the PC.

    Books

    • A Tool for the Layperson – A review of the book IBM Personal Computer: An Introduction to Programming and Applications.

    Product Reports

    • PC Reviews the Smith-Corona TP-1 Printer – A letter quality daisy wheel printer for about $700.

    PC Lab

    • PC Takes a Look at IBM’s Pascal Compiler – A review of this early Pascal compiler for the PC.

    Follow-Up

    • EasyWriter Resurrected – A look at this improved version of the EasyWriter word processor.
    • New Software Submission Guidelines from IBM – Highlights of IBM’s new software submission guidelines for those that want to try to have their software sold by IBM.

    At Home

    • The Computer Workstead – Working at home with your PC.

    Book Exerpt

    • VisiCalc and Your Stock Portfolio – An excerpt from VisiCalc Home and Office Companion.

    Age of Altair

    • The Grand and Glorious Crusade – One in a series of articles about the history of the Altair computer.

    Columns

    • David Bunnell – The software publishing jungle.
    • Zero Base Thinking – How e-mail systems help to keep things from falling through the cracks.
    • Jean Yates & Dr. Rebecca Thomas – An idea for a low-cost dedicated VisiCalc machine.

    Departments

    • Letters to PC – Letters from readers about adding a customer service card, copy protected software, IBM employee sales, adding a an MP1 B51 drive to the PC, speeding up disk drive access, and more.
    • PCommuniques – Keeping your PC cool; reduced price 64K expansion board; Zork released for the PC; electronic greeting cards; King James Bible released on disk; successor to the PC may have 8087 math coprocessor; four new computers announced that are software compatible with the PC; and more.
    • User-to-User – A look at the bugs fixed in the V1.05 update to BASICA, BASIC programming tips, PASCAL tips, printing with the NEC Spinwriter 3530, and more.
    • Book Briefs – A look at new books including A User Guide to the UNIX System and Introduction to WordStar.
    • New on the Market – A brief look at new PC related products including 64K-256K memory boards from Micro Match, the Intel 8087 Chip, the DataSouth DS180 dot matrix printer, a joystick from TG Products, the Move-It communications program, and more.
    • PC Tutor – Using an autoexec.bat file, solving double character problems with The Source and the IBM Asynchronous Communications Support program, and more.

    …and more!


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  • 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!


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