• Tag Archives TI-99/4A

  •  Home Computer Magazine Volume 4, Number 1 (1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Home Computer Magazine Volume 4, Number 1 (1985)

    Home Computer Magazine started life as TI99er which exclusively covered the the Texas Instruments TI-99 line of computers. With this issue (Volume 4, Number 1) it was re-branded and started covering the Commodore 64 and VIC-20, Apple II, and IBM PC (DOS) in addition to the TI-99. This issue was published some time in 1984 and includes:

    Features

    • Uncle Larry’s Fiddle Tunes – Type-in folk songs for the Commodore 64, TI-99/4A and PCjr.
    • Pocket Canon – More type-in music, this time for the TI-99/4A.
    • TI-Writer Tutorial – The third part of a tutorial TI-Writer, a word processor for the TI-99/4A.
    • I Write the Songs: Electronic Sheet Music – A type-in BASIC program for the TI-99/4A called Music Magic that lets you play, display, and save music.
    • Just Assemble Melody: Music in Mini Memory – A type-in program that makes writing music on the TI-99/4A easier.
    • PCjr: A Detailed Look Inside the Peanut’s Shell – An overview of IBM’s new PCjr. It was doomed to failure for a variety of reasons, including a terrible keyboard, incompatibility with PC parts, limited expansion ability, software compatibility issues, a relatively high price, and probably other reasons.
    • 66 Keys to Graphics Success: A Primer for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 – A beginner’s guide to the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Have No Fear: Assembly Language Won’t Byte, Part 3 – The third part in a beginner’s assembly language tutorial for the TI-99/4A.
    • Porsches and Other Pipedreams: Computer Assisted Savings – A type-in program for the Apple II, PCjr, Commodore 64 and VIC-20 that does things like calculating compound interest, payment plans, future value, and more.
    • 3D-IIe: Apple Graphics in Three Dimensions – A type-in program for creating 3D line drawing on the Apple II.
    • The Future Is Now in Apple Graphics – A look at new graphics products for the Apple II including the Supersprite board and StarSprite software, plus an interview with Don Fudge.
    • Biting Into Your Apple – A guide to customizing and expanding your Apple II.
    • Movable Feasts – A type-in meal planner for the VIC-20.
    • Don’t Be a SlowPOKE – A type-in machine language routine to help you animated your sprites on the Commodore 64.
    • Down Memory Lane – A guide to rearranging the memory map of your Commodore 64 to squeeze out more memory.
    • Easy as Apple Pie – A guide to creating simple graphics on the Apple II.
    • Microcomputer Accuracy – A guide to testing the mathematical accuracy of your computer. Typically, home computers were not as precise as scientific calculators, at least not with built in math functions.

    LOGO Times

    • What Is LOGO – It’s a programming language.
    • Lyrical LOGO – Recursion using LOGO.
    • LOGO Shoots for the Moon – Structured programming using LOGO.

    Product Reviews

    • Henpecked – A cartridge based Joust clone for the TI-99/4A featuring chickens.
    • Hopper – A cartridge based Pengo clone for the TI-99/4A in which you control a kangaroo on a cargo ship trying to avoid capture.
    • Zeus – A game inspired by Space Invaders for the Commodore 64 in which you must avoid lightning bolts from Zeus.
    • Beach Head – This classic for the Commodore 64 plays kind of like a series of mini-games with a World War II theme. It is definitely among the best early games for the commodore 64.
    • Gruds in Space – A sci-fi themed graphic adventure for the Apple II.
    • Jumpman Junior – A cartridge version of this screen based platform game. The graphics were definitely simple but this game was a lot of fun (and also hard).
    • Stellar Seven – A wireframe space combat sim for the Apple II.
    • Coveted Mirror – A graphics adventure game for the Apple II with the somewhat unique feature for the time that the screens were animated.
    • Fly Snuffer – An action game on cartridge for the TI-99/4A in which you have to spray flies to kill them.
    • Homeword Bound – A review of HomeWord, a word processor from Sierra Online for the Apple II.
    • Bank Street Writer – A popular 1980s word processor for the Apple II (and later other machines).
    • Bigger Better Basic – Reviews of The Super Expander 64 and Simon’s Basic 64, both of which are extensions to Commodore 64’s BASIC that add things like graphics commands among others.
    • Getting it Out of Your System – A look at the Buffered Grappler and PSIO interface cards for the Apple II.
    • Facemaker – A educational/art game in which you create and must remember faces for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and TI-99/4A.
    • Art at Your Fingertips – A color graphics system for the Apple II consisting of a Koala Pad drawing pad, Microillustrator art program, Transtar 315 printer, and a PICS Interface card which can transfer color screen dumps to the printer.

    Gameware Buffet

    • Flak Attack – A type in game for the Apple II, Commodore 64, VIC-20, PCjr and TI-99/4A in which you must shoot down enemy aircraft.
    • Slots – A type-in slot game simulator for the TI-99/4A.
    • Meltdown – A type-in game in which you must prevent a nuclear power plant from melting down for the TI-99/4A.
    • Challenging the Tower of Hanoi – A type-in implementation of the Tower of Hanoi for the Apple II, Commodore 64, VIC-20, PCjr, and TI-99/4A.

    Departments

    • On Screen – TI exits the personal computer market and all about the changes in the magazine.
    • Group Grapevine – News and upcoming events related to computer users groups.
    • Letters to the Editor – Letters from readers including converting programs for the TI Editor/Assembler, the IBM PC vs. the IBM PCjr, and more comments on articles from previous issues.
    • HCM Product News – TI announces two new games for the TI-99/4A (Symoids and Pirate’s Isle); the Super Stik from Personal Peripherals; Persuasion, a strategy game from Orion Games for the PC; new printing service for TI users; Flight Simulator II from subLogic for the Commodore 64 and Atari; a new TI BASIC compiler; and much more.
    • Tech Notes: TI – A guide to setting up data files on cassette for the TI-99/4A.
    • Tech Notes: IBM – Demonstrating mathematical accuracy on the IBM PC.
    • Tech Notes: Commodore – Restoring DATA pointers on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Tech Notes: Apple – Modifying, inserting, and deleting from existing programs on the Apple II.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (May 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 60 – May 1985

    Compute! was a popular magazine in the 1980s and very early 1990s that covered all of the home computers popular at the time. In 1985 that included the IBM PC (and compatibles), Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit, TI-99/4A, Apple II, and Macintosh. The May 1985 issue includes:

    Features

    • GEM: A New Look for IBM and Atari – GEM was an operating system interface. Basically it was a GUI shell over DOS. It was available for both PCs and the Atari ST. However, while it was the main interface on the Atari ST, it had a fairly small market share on the PC.
    • Home Financial Calculator – A type in home budget program for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit, and Apple II.
    • Space Dodger – A type in action game for the TI-99/4A, Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit, and Apple II.
    • SpeedScript 3.0 – Compute! published a high quality type-in word processor for a variety of computers. Version 3.0 for Atari 8-bit computers.

    Reviews

    • Relax Stress Reduction System – Relax, is a software product that uses biofeedback and computer generated graphics to help you reduce stress. It was available for the Commodore 64, PC, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit.
    • Sidekick for PC and PCjr – Sidekick provided a series of tools, including a calculator, notepad, calendar with diary, and ASCII table, that could be accessed via a keystroke even while running other software in DOS.
    • Gateway to Apshai – This was an action/adventure game that was available for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, and Coleco Adam. I had a lot of fun with this one on the Commodore 64.
    • Championship Lode Runner – Lode Runner is a non-scrolling platform game that is blast to play. Championship Lode Runner is essentially just additional levels but they tended to be harder. It’s reviewed here for the Commodore 64 and Apple II.
    • MacVision for Apple Macintosh – A hardware/software package for the Macintosh that lets you digitize images from a video camera.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – How there tends to be resistance to new technologies. The focus here is the typewriter vs. word processor.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Readers write in to discuss baud, reading the PC keyboard from BASIC, Commodore 64s in the classroom, chaining programs on the Commodore 64, help with Deadline by Infocom, analog vs. digital joysticks, and more.
    • The Beginner’s Page – Using loops in BASIC.
    • Telecomputing Today – A tutorial on uploading and downloading files. Trivial today but not quite as much so in 1985.
    • Computers and Society: Visual Computing, Part 2 – The second part in a series on graphical operating environments.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – Bugs in various Atari BASIC versions and solutions for working around them.
    • The World Inside the Computer: Redefining Computer Literacy – The future of home computers as digital utility centers.
    • Programming the TI: Japanese Characters – A type-in program for reprogramming the keyboard to print Japanese characters on the TI-99/4A.
    • IBM Personal Computing: Titling Your Vacation – Programs for the IBM PC that can be used to create titles that can then be photographed to be used in slide shows, etc.

    The Journal

    • ScriptSave: Automatic Disk Saves for Commodore 64 Speedscript 3.0 – A type-in utility that works with Speedscript 3.0 on the Commodore 64 to automatically save your work every 10 minutes.
    • Dynamic Function Keys for VIC & 64 – A type-in program that assigns useful functions for programmers to the function keys on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64.
    • IBM Disk Rx – A type-in program for DOS machines designed for file recovery of accidentally deleted files.
    • Apple IIc RAM Disk Mover, Part I – A type-in utility to quickly move the contents of a floppy disk to a RAM disk.
    • 64 Tape to Disk Transfer – A type-in utility that makes it easy to transfer programs from tape to disk on the Commodore 64.
    • News & Products – Broderbund announces The Music Shop for the Commodore 64, The Original Boston Computer Diet available for the PC and coming soon for the Apple II and Commodore 64, Mindwheel text adventure released for the PC, Apple II, and Commodore 64, new dot matrix printers from Star Micronics, and more.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (May 1983)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 36 – May 1983

    Compute! was probably the best magazine for home computer users in the 1980s. It covered a wide variety of machines and included reviews, technical content, type-in programs and more. the May 1983 issue includes:

    Features

    • the New Low-Cost Printer/Plotters – An overview of the latest (relatively) inexpensive printer/plotters on the market. Mostly they were in the range of $200-$400 but many of them were not much more that the equivalent of a receipt printer. Items covered include the Texas Instruments HX-1000, Radio Shack CGP-115, Commodore CBM 1520, and Atari 1020.
    • Jumping Jack – A type-in platform style game for the Commodore 64, Atari 400/800, TI-99/4A and VIC-20.
    • Atari’s New Add-On Computer for VCS 2600 Game Machine – For an extra $90 you could turn your Atari 2600 into a home computer. This package included a snap-on keyboard that plugged into the cartridge port (and included an expansion port to plug cartridges into), 8K of RAM, and built-in BASIC. Peripherals were planned such as a disk drive (which may have actually made it useful) but these were never released.
    • One On One – A type-in game that is sort of like pong but each player must protect a wall. For the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and Apple II.
    • Computers and Composition – The pros and cons of word processing.

    Education and Recreation

    • Deflector – A type-in game for the VIC-20, Atari 400/800 and Apple II that is essentially a very early real-time strategy game in which you must place deflectors to alter the trajectory of a bouncing ball to get it to go where you want.
    • Crosswords – A type-in computerized crossword puzzle for the VIC-20, TI-99/4A, PET/CBM, Atari 400/800 and Apple II.
    • Checkers – A type-in checkers game for the Commodore 64.
    • Programming Multicolor Characters on the VIC – A guide for the VIC-20 on creating multi-color characters including how to select colors for the screen, border, characters and more.
    • Atari Starshot – A type-in BASIC game for the Atari 400/800 that produces a Death Star trench run type game.
    • Guess That Animal – A type-in guessing game for the ZX-81.

    Reviews

    • Atari CX85 Numerical Keypad – An adding machine style numerical keypad with function keys for the Atari 400/800.
    • Three VIC Cartridge Games By Creative Software – Three games for the VIC-20 including Choplifter, Serpentine and Trashman.
    • Hescount for PET/CBM and VIC – A program profiler for the PET and VIC-20.
    • Micro-Systems’ VIE Cartridge: VIC to IEEE Interface – Allows you to connect your 4016, 4032, and 8032 PET/CBM disk drives, as well as other IEEE devices, to your VIC-20.
    • Microteach Teacher’s Aide for the Atari – Software for creating computer based lessons.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – The Eighth West Coast Computer Faire, new Compute! editors, and more.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Reader letters about light pens, simulating a clock for the TI, using Atari’s Player/Missile graphics, VIC PILOT, random numbers for the TI-99/4A and more.
    • Computers and Society – The future of domestic robots (meanwhile we still don’t have anything practical except Roomba).
    • The Beginner’s Page – Computer Aided Instruction, home computer applications, and more.
    • Questions Beginners Ask – Questions answered about joystick programming for the Atari 400 and what accessories you need when buying a computer.
    • The World Inside The Computer: Software for Toddlers – The future of software for kids.
    • Friends of the Turtle – The introduction of the Mattel Aquarius computer at the Winter CES and available Logo cartridge; a preview of a turtle graphics package from HES; and a robot called B.O.B.
    • Machine Language: Numeric Output, Part I – Part one of a tutorial for outputting and formatting numbers using machine language.
    • Insight: Atari – Part 2 on writing your own interpreter plus more info on the Atari 1200XL.
    • Programming The TI: Graphics – Drawing pictures, using colors, creating user-defined graphics characters and more.
    • Guest Commentary: Is RAM Memory a Status Symbol? – An argument that the less scarce (and cheaper) RAM is, the less effort should be put towards economizing its use. Plus, ideas for usage of large (like 1 MB!) amounts of RAM.
    • News & Products – Some new games for the TRS-80 Models I and II as well as the TRS-80 Color Computer; a 27K memory upgrade for the VIC-20 for $169; Voice Box II speech synthesizer for the Atari 400/800; and much more.

    The Journal

    • VIC Kaleidoscope – A type in program for the VIC-20 that provides a kaleidoscope-like graphical display and music.
    • Instant Commodore 64 Art – Two type-in programs for the Commodore 64. One creates random art for you, the other lets you create your own.
    • Graphics on the Sinclair/Timex – A graphics tutorial for the Timex/Sinclair with examples.
    • PET/CBM POP – Using the POP command to cancel a GOSUB in BASIC.
    • Bootmaker for VIC, PET and 64 – Automating the boot process.
    • Basic Atari BASIC Sorts – Bubble Sorts, Insertion Sorts and other sorts for the Atari in BASIC.
    • PET Super Editor – A screen editing subroutine for the PET with numerous options.
    • VICSTATION: A “Paperless Office” – A type-in text editor for the VIC-20.
    • Screen Printer for the Atari Wedge – A new command to send screen output to the printer.
    • Commodore 64 Video – A Guided Tour, Part IV – Part 4 of a detailed guide to the Commodore 64’s video capabilities.
    • VIC File Case – A type-in program to help you keep track of your files.
    • The Atari Musician – A couple of type-in programs to compute pitch values to play major and minor chords, generate scales, and more.
    • Visiting the VIC-20 Video, Part I – The first in a multi-part series about the VIC’s video chip, it’s structure, and how to use it.
    • General-Purpose Data Base, Part II – The second part in a two-part series on creating a database for the TI-99/4A and TRS-80 Color Computer.
    • TCON: The Apple Writer Processes Programs – Use the search capabilities and other functions of Apple Writer to help you with your program.
    • Apple Fast Sort – A sort routine for the Apple II that can sort 1000 random strings in one minute and 45 seconds (whereas a standard bubble sort takes it 8 hours and 57 minutes).
    • 64 Odds and Ends – Several tips and tricks for the Commodore 64.
    • Atari Times – Knowing the time it takes the Atari to perform various operations to help you improve the speed of your programs.
    • Versatile Data Acquisition with VIC – Adjusting the speed of the VIC-20’s internal clock to match timing needs for data acquisition hardware…or to speed up games.
    • Optimizing PET Speed – Making your programs faster my carefully choosing the line numbers for GOSUB and GOTO routines in BASIC.
    • TI BASIC One-Liners – How to use the TI BASIC DEF statement.
    • Disassemble to Printer or Disk for Atari – How to store disassemblies of machine language programs on disk or print them out.
    • The Apple Hi-Res Painter – A type-in art program in which you can use one of 6 colors (or combinations) and three different drawing pens.

    …and more!


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