• Zzap! 64 (November 1987)

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    Here in the U.S., we never had a gaming magazine dedicated to the Commodore 64. I would have loved such a thing, especially as this one, published in the U.K. was published well into the 1990s and I was still using my Commodore 64 as my primary computer up through most of 1993. The November 1987 issue of Zzap! 64 includes:

    Redoubtable Regulars

    • Editorial – Info on a new editor at the magazine.
    • The Rrap – Letters from readers about arcade conversions, the cost of Zzap! in Ireland, competition questions, Microprose, and more.
    • Enter The Harlequin – A solution to Kayleth, an adventure game from US Gold. Plus, news about an upcoming adventures games, including Jack the Ripper.
    • Compunet – A look at the latest demos available via Compunet.
    • What’s New – SSI to work with TSR and US Gold to develop Dungeons & Dragons computer games (these would become the gold box series), a promotion for Bangkok Knights, and more.
    • Manoeuvres – Reviews of strategy games Armageddon Man and High Frontier.
    • Postmark – Games played via the postal service.
    • Cheap and Cheerful – Reviews of budget games Joe Blade, Anarchy, On Cue, Tunnel Vision, Special Agent, Pyramid of Time, Defcom, and Land of Neverwhere.
    • The Chart Show – A list of the top 30 games for the month. At the top of the list is World Games. Some others on this list I have played include Gauntlet (number 5), Paperboy (number 14), California Games (number 16), Kikstart II (number 17), Arkanoid (number 22), and Green Beret (number 24).

    November Novelties

    • International Karate + – A review of this fighting game from System 3. I never played it but it reminds me a bit of Yie ar King-Fu.
    • Solomon’s Key – A review of this arcade conversion by US Gold.
    • Morpheus – A review of this scrolling shooter from Hewson.
    • Starfox – Not to be confused with the famous series that got its start on the Super NES, this game is a space combat sim.
    • Quedex – A review of this game which is sort of like Marble Madness without the isometric viewpoint.
    • Enlightenment – Druid II – I don’t think I ever played this sequel but the original Druid was a fun Gauntlet-like game.

    Features

    • Hit Me With Your Best Shot – A history of Shoot ‘Em Up games. Some game mentioned here include Pastfinder from Activision (I loved this one), Spy Hunter (another great game), Paradroid, Hypercircuit, Dropzone, and many others.
    • Accolade’s Comics – An adventure game in comic book format.
    • The Tips Supplement – Tips for Impossible Mission, Quartet, Joustie, Master of Magic, The Evil Dead, Hercules, Gods and Heroes, Nodes of Yesod, 1942, and lots more.
    • RPG’s Scrutinised – A look at new RPGs including Moebius (Microprose/Origin), Alternate Reality: The Dungeon (Datasoft), and Legacy of the Ancients (Electronic Arts).
    • Combat Zone – A real-life capture the flag paintball game.
    • Minson Meets Microprose – A sneak peek at the latest from Microprose including Project Stealth Fighter and Airborne Ranger.

    …and more!


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  • Compute!’s Gazette (March 1987)

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    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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  • PC World (September 2003)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    PC World was around for decades from the early 1980s until well into the 2000s. It was perhaps the most popular PC magazine for most of that time. The September 2003 issue includes:

    PC Makeovers

    • 60-Minute Upgrades – A look at relatively quick and easy upgrades for your computer including adding a 100 GB 7200 RPM PATA hard drive, adding a DVD burner, upgrading a CPU (in this case a Pentium 700 to a Celeron 1400 via a PowerLeap PL-ip3/T adapter), adding more RAM (1 to 2 GB was a lot at the time), upgrading your video card (AGP was all the rage at the time), and more.

    Features

    • Well-Connected Handhelds – At this time, PDAs were gaining wi-fi capabilities and cell phones were gaining PDA functionality. Some devices looked at here include the Palm Tungsten C, Sony Ericsson P800, Handspring Treo 300, Kyocera 7135 Smartphone, Palm Tungsten W, Samsun SPH-i700 and Samsung SPH-i500, T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, T-Mobile Sidekick, Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 and Toshiba E755.
    • Online Music: New Hits and Misses – A look at online music services including RealNetworks RealOne Rhapsody, EMusic, Apple iTunes Music Store, Musicmatch WX Platinum, FullAudio MusicNow, Pressplay, and more.
    • More Broadband for Your Buck – Broadband was still relatively new and not as fast as it is today (5 Mb was common). This is a guide to optimizing your speed and getting the most from the features your service offers.

    Top 100

    • Top 15 Desktop PCs – The top power system this month is the ABS Ultimate M5 featuring an Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of DDR400 RAM and 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card for $2739 while the top value system is the ABS Bravado 2280 featuring an Athlon XP 2500+, 512MB DDR-333 RAM, and 64MB EVGA E-GeForce Ti 4200 video card for $1139.
    • Top 15 Notebook PCs – The top power notebook is the IBM ThinkPad T40 featuring a 1.6 GHZ Pentium M and 512MB RAM for $3099 while the top value notebook is the Dell Inspiron 500m featuring a 1.3 GHz Pentium M and 256MB RAM for $1616.
    • Top 5 Photo Printers – At the top of the list is the Epson Stylus Photo 900.
    • Top 10 15-inch LCD Monitors – It’s hard to give away a 15-inch monitor today but it was the norm in 2003. The top 15-inch LCD monitor this month was the NEC MultiSync LCD 1560M for $370.
    • Top 10 DVD Drives – The top drive this month was the TDK Indi DVD 440N for $300.
    • Top 10 Digital Cameras – The top digital camera this month was the 3.2-megapixel Canon PowerShot A70 (I think this was actually my first digital camera).
    • More Reviews – Other list toppers include the Olympus C-4000 Zoom digital camera, Oki Data Oki C7300n color laser printer, Dell UltraSharp 1901FP 19-inch LCD monitor, and Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 6Y120P0 hard drive.

    Departments

    • Up Front – A look at some computer services actually worth paying for…maybe.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about adware, file trading, Windows XP updates, photo kiosks, and more.
    • Plugged In – A look at storage options for MP3 players, Microsoft’s new version of Office, AOL 9.0, turning your PC off at night, and more.
    • Consumer Watch – Preventing your PC from being hijacked by spammers.
    • Home Office – A look at the ten best free utilities including hard drive utilities, web browser accelerators, and more.
    • Full Disclosure – Copyright and the perils of ignoring it.

    News & Trends

    • Cheap Ink Probed – Part two of a series on third-party ink cartridges.
    • ISPs Promote Premium Extras – ISPs promote extra services such as antivirus software, digital music, firewall software, and more for an extra cost.
    • A 64-bit Computer: Your Next PC? – The next generation of PC processors will be 64-bit, including Apple’s G5 and AMD’s Athlon 64.
    • .Zip File Format Splinters – Winzip and PKZip use incompatible implementations of AES encryption.
    • Built-in Graphics Show Some Improvement – Integrated graphics show improvement but are still far inferior to even cheap dedicated graphics cards.
    • RSS: Hot Fix for Inter-Junkies – New RSS standard makes it easy to get news on the topics that you want.

    New Products

    • Notebook PCs – A look at new subnotebooks including the Compaq Nc4000 (1.6 GHz Pentium M and 256MB), LifeBook P5000 (900 MHz ULV Pentium M and 256MB), and Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A (900 MHz ULV Pentium M and 512MB).
    • Privacy Software – A look at the latest version of ZoneAlarm.
    • Digital Camera – A look at Apple’s ISight camera.
    • PDA/Cell Phone Hybrid – A look at Hitachi’s G1000 Pocket PC/phone hybrid.
    • Hard-Drive Backup Software – A look at Drive Image 7 for Windows.

    Here’s How

    • Answer Line – A guide to reinstalling Windows without losing your data.
    • Windows Tips – Checking for disk errors in Windows XP and Windows 2000.
    • Step-By-Step – Upgrading to a Serial ATA drive.
    • Internet Tips – Optimizing your browser security settings.
    • Hardware Tips – Implementing BIOS passwords.

    …and more!


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