Source: Compute! – Issue Number 114 – November 1989 

Compute! was one of the earliest home computer magazines and probably one of the last to cover multiple systems other than the PC standard. It was still going pretty strong in 1989 and covering at least the Commodore 64, Apple II, Amiga and Macintosh in addition to the PC (DOS). The November 1989 issue includes:

In Focus: Your Home Office

• Your Home Office: Dressed for Success – In 1989 26 million people were working from home and the idea of a “home office” was becoming popular. As far as computer equipment, Compute! recommends starting with an XT-class computer with two floppy drives, 256K of RAM, a decent word processor and a 9-pin dot matrix printer and expanding from there based on your specific needs.

• My View – Work at home pioneers and authors of “Working from Home” discuss…working from home.

• Take Five – Working from home vs. running your own business. While the equipment may be important, it ultimately isn’t what makes a business successful.

• Buyer’s Guide – A guide to various software that may be useful in a home office setting, including Andrew Tobias Checkwrite Plus, CheckFree, Clan Practical Accountant, Dollars and Sense, HFS-III, MoneyCounts 6.0, On Balance, Personal Portfolio Manager, Quick Check, Quicken 2.0, Small Business Accounting – General Ledger, Smart Money, WealthBuilder, EZ-Forms Lite, FormSet, PerForm 2.0, Address Book Plus, Addresselope, Fastpak Mail, Influence, MyBASE, Mailing and Phone List, Norton Utilities Advanced Edition, Magellen, PC Logbook, Backup Pro, Business Card Maker, and more.

• Compute!’s November Sharepak Disk – For the cost of shipping and handling ($1.95 to $2.95) you could get CheckMate Version 1.70 and Contact Manager on disk for free.

Departments

• News & Notes – Zenith releases six pound laptop for under $2000; Macworld Expo features multimedia, WordPerfect 4.1 released for the Amiga, new technique for “aging” photos of missing children, GPA interface board released for PS/2 computers featuring support for two joysticks, and more.

• Letters – Letters from readers about the legal implications of using WillMaker software to create wills for others, the Commodore 64 vs. the NES, identifying screen shots, and more.

• Reviews – Reviews of Dr. Doom’s Revenge (PC, Commodore 64, Amiga), PC Paintbrush IV (PC), Super Story Tree (Apple II), Echelon (PC), Wealthbuilder (PC), Space Quest II: The Pirates of Pestulon (PC), Barbarian (Atari ST, PC), Ultravision (PC), Children’s Writing and Publishing Center (Apple II), and Mastering the LSAT (PC).

• New Products – Featured new products include the Citizen GSX-140 dot matrix printer; Caveman Ugh-Lympics for the PC and Commodore 64; Sword of the Samurai for the PC; Golf Statkeeper for the PC; new games from Activision including Mental Blocks, Harrier 7, and Frightmare all for the PC and Commodore 64; the Emerson 8000EC (10-Mhz 8088 based XT), Emerson 8286EC (16-MHz 80286 based AT), and Emerson 8386EC (16-MHz 80386-SX based) computers ranging in price from $999 to $1,999; M1 Tank Platoon for the PC; and more.

• Hotware – A list of top selling software in various categories including Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (#1 in Home Learning), Flight Simulator (#1 in Home Entertainment), and The Print Shop (#1 in Home Productivity).

• Compute! Specific
  • MS-DOS – A look at the Seagate 251 hard drive (40MB for $400 or less), PC Tools Deluxe, Viruscan from McAfee, and SpinRite.
  • Commodore 64/128 – A look at the games Fire King, Total Eclipse, Darkside, and Curse of the Azure bonds.
  • Apple II – A look at educational software featuring Stickybear, SuperPrint II, and an external battery for the IIgs.
  • Amiga – A look at NewTek’s DigitPaint 3 and Falcon from Spectrum Holobyte.
  • Macintosh – A look at the DataStor 8000 (a PIM that works with the Mac), WorkMaker and Publish It!.

Productivity

• Compute! Choice – A look at VGA-TV, an 8-bit VGA board with 256K of memory that converts VGA graphics to television signals.

• Please Feed the PC – A guide to expanding the memory and drive space of your PC.

• PC Primer – A guide to DOS commands and their various command line options.

Learning

• Compute! Choice – A look at The Music Studio 3.0 from Activision.

• Speaking in Tongues – Learning a new language using your PC.

• Homework – Teaching kids about shapes using a simple drawing program.

Entertainment

• Compute! Choice – A positive review of Vette! from Spectrum Holobyte. Minimum requirements include an 8-MHz IBM PC, and 512K of RAM.

• Get Real – A look at various simulations from F-19 Stealth Fighter to Pirates!.

• Gamescope – Tips and tricks for a golf game that as far as I can tell they never mention the name of.

Columns

• Editorial License – Some advice for buying a computer, including not just buying what is most expensive.

• Impact – An article on computer simulations and how they work.

• Discoveries – Computers start replacing books and other media in education and research.

• Gameplay – The best new games require more that fast reflexes. A look at SimCity and Populous.

• Off Line – A parody in which Apple introduces the AppleKitchen product line featuring the Intelligen-Toaster (for only $2495) and more. No doubt it was superseded by the iToaster 20 years later.

…and more!