• Byte (May 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    In the early 1980s, there was probably no better computer magazine than Byte. In 1982, the PC had only recently been introduced and there were a variety of mostly incompatible machines to chose from. Earlier issues of Byte could also be quite huge. This issue weighs in at close to 600 pages. The May 1982 issue of Byte includes:

    Features

    • Everyone Can Know the Real Time – In the early days of personal computing, you would have to set the time and date every time you turned on the machine. This article describes how to install an increasingly affordable real-time clock chip into your computer.
    • Six Personal Computers from Japan – A comparison of new computers from Japan including the BMC if800, Canon CX-1, Hitachi MB-6890, NEC PC-8001A, Fujitsu FM-8, and Systems Formulate Corporation Bubcom80.
    • Japan Update – A look at new computers from Japan introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show, including the Casio FX-9000P, NEC PC-6000 and PC-6001, and more.
    • The Machines Behind the Machines – A look at the Japanese computer market and some of the Japanese companies producing computers, including Canon, Oki, Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, and Systems Formulate Corporation.
    • The Japanese Manufacturers – How Successful Will They Be? – Speculation on the potential success of Japanese companies producing computers, particularly in the American market.
    • Japan Maps Computer Domination – Japan aims to leapfrog the U.S. in terms of computer technology in terms of computer technology with fifth-generation computers.
    • The Atari Tutorial, part 9: Even More Colors! – Displaying more colors on Atari 8-bit computers with the new GTIA chip.
    • Ports of Entry and Soft Breezes for the Color Computer and Model III – Using the Cassette Interface of the TRS-80 Model III or Color Computer as input for remote sensing projects such as an anemometer.
    • The Input/Output Primer, Part 4: The BCD and Serial Interfaces – The fourth in a six-part series on computer input/output. This part concentrates on the RS-232C interface (commonly used with modems).
    • The User’s Column: Supercalc, Spelling Programs, BASIC Compilers, and Home-Grown Accounting – A look at recent software, including Supercalc CP/M, Microproof, Spellstar, BASCOM, CB80 compiler for CBASIC, CBASIC Accounting for Non-Accountants, and Quickscreen.
    • More Maze Building – A Pascal program for generating and printing out mazes via a printer.
    • TRS-80 BASIC Program Hang-ups: The Reasons and Some Solutions – Understanding and preventing crashes in TRS-80 BASIC programs.
    • Anatomy and Development of a Batch-Processing System – Batch processing refers to running a series of programs without human intervention. This article looks at its history and methods.
    • CHEDIT: A Graphics-Character Editor – A program for defining your own character sets in Apple Pascal.
    • Give Your Apple a Voice: A Speech-Development System Using the Radio Shack Speech Synthesizer – A project to get your Apple II to talk.
    • Programming PERT in BASIC – Implementing a Performance Evaluation and Review Technique in BASIC.
    • CP/M, Your Time Has Come: A Real-Time Clock for the Most Popular Microcomputer Operating System – Building a real-time clock for CP/M based systems.

    Reviews

    • Alien Typhoon – An arcade style game inspired by Space Invaders for the Apple II.
    • PL/I for Microcomputers – PL/I-80 is a PL/I implementation for CP/M. This language was originally intended to be the primarly language used for the System 360.
    • Apple II 80-Column Video Boards – A look at five different 80-Column video boards for the Apple II including the Full-View 80, Omnivision, SupRTerminal, Vidterm, Wizard-80, and others.
    • Colne Robotics Armdroid, The Small-Systems Robot – A robot arm designed for the TRS-80 Model I.
    • Super FORTH – A version of FORTH designed for the Apple II.

    Nucleus

    • Editorial – How much competition will Japan offer in the personal computer industry?
    • Letters – Readers write in about the IBM PC, warranties, the Intertec Superbrain, and more.
    • Book Reviews – Reviews of Fifty BASIC Exercises, Programmer’s Guide to the 180s, and TRS-80 Color Computer Technical Reference Manual.
    • Programming Quickies – A general purpose BASIC routine for creating structured strings which could be used to sequence vents in control programs.
    • BYTELINES – IBM looks to expand IBM PC distribution (at the time, Sears and Computerland were the only retailers), more computers using the Motorola 68000 CPU including thr TRS-80 Model 16, IBM expects to have sold 200,000 PCs by the end of the year, new slimline 8-inch floppy drives, Intel introduces the 80286, and much more.
    • Ask BYTE – Questions answered about using the TRS-80 Color Computer for farm control applications, display problems with the Color Computer and a new TV, building a digital speedometer, and more.
    • Hierarchical Interrupts – Using daisy-chained peripheral devices.
    • What’s New? – A look at new products including the Ace 100 Apple II compatible computer, the Model PC-2 TRS-80 Pocket Computer, the Wicat System 150 68000 based computer, the ACI-2 Z80-based computer with two 8-inch floppy drives, Understanding Your VIC, Volume I (book), 8088 User’s Manual, an 80-column adapter for the PET, and much more.

    …and more!


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  • Maximum PC (May 2006)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Here’s another issue of what was my favorite PC magazine. It hung on longer than most PC print magazines but sadly it too died off a few years back. The May 2006 issue includes:

    Features

    • Hardcore Hardware – What to know about transitioning to your next motherboard/CPU/memory upgrade which at the time would likely include transitioning from an AGP to a PCI Express based system. Includes advice for choosing the right number of corse, choosing Intel or AMD, which AMD or Intel processor to get, RAM choices, and more.
    • Geek Quiz – Maximum PC’s annual computer quiz.

    Dapartments

    • Quick Start – Intel introduces the Conroe which was the first iteration of the Core architecture as a replacement for the Netburst architecture of the Pentium 4; a look at Vista’s release plans; Intel plans removal of PATA interface; AMD introduces AM2 socket; and more.
    • Head2Head – A comparision of VOIP and regular analog phone service.
    • WatchDog – HP settles lawsuit over defective Pavilion motherboards; problems with the Minolta Dimage X1 digital camera; and more.
    • How To – Solving playback errors, missing sound, player crashes and more when attempting to play back video.
    • Ask the Doctor – Questions answered about the right hardware for AutoCAD, problems with a PC recognizing a keyboard, a 400GB Maxtor drive problem, problems after upgrading from a Celeron D to a Pentium 4, Thermaltake’s Bigwater SE water-cooling kit, and more.
    • R&D – A look at the various types of Creative Commons licenses, a detailed look at the Cooler Master AquaGate Mini CPU water-cooler, a preview of nVidia’s GeForce 7900 GTX Quad SLI, and more.
    • In the Lab – Solving problems with overheating chipsets when using water-cooling, reducing boot times, and more.

    Reviews

    • Videocard – A look at nVidia’s new flagship GeForce 7900 GTX featuring 512MB GDDR3, a 650MHz clock speed, and SLI technology for only $500.
    • Desktop PC – A review of the Omen A:121 Crossfire featuring an Athlon 64 FX-60 CPU, two ATI X1900 XT videocards, 2 GB RAM, four 150GB Raptor 10,000 RPM hard drives in RAID 0, and more for $7500.
    • Notebook PC – A review of the Alienware Aurora M7700 featuring an AMD FX-60 CPU, 2GB DDR400, two 80GB hard drives in RAID 0, an nVidia GeForce Go 7800 with 256MB, a 17-inch screen and more for just over $5000.
    • Backup drive – A review of the Maxtor One Touch III Turbo external drive which features two Maxtor 500 GB drives in a RAID 0 or RAID 1 config in an external enclosure ($900).
    • Compact digicam – A review of the Kodak EasyShare One digital camera ($500).
    • A/V streaming box – The Sony LocationFree TV LF-X11, meant to compete with devices like the Slingbox.
    • VGA coolers – Arctic Cooling Accelero VGA Coolers. These were aftermarket heatsink/fan combos designed for better cooling than what came stock on most cards at the time.
    • Powerline Wi-Fi adapter – The Netgear XE104. At 85b/s it was quite a bit faster than most wi-fi at the time.
    • MP3 Player – The Creative Zen Vision: M MP3/video player. Another device modern phones have destroyed.
    • RAM drive card – The Gigabyte i-RAM. This was a PCI card with 1 GB of RAM designed to be used as a RAM drive.
    • PC enclosures – Reviews of the Kingwin SK-523BKW and the Lian Li PC-777 Memorial Edition (it literally looks like a snail).
    • Privacy stick – The Stealth Surfer II, a password protected 128 MB memory stick designed for keeping your web surfing habits private.
    • Water coolers – Reviews of the Swiftech H20-120 Premium and Thermaltake Bigwater 745 CPU liquid coolers.
    • Gaming – A look at Star Wars: Empire at War, a Star Wars themed strategy game.

    …and more!


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  • Digital Archaeology: Hewlett Packard Z220

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The Z220 SFF was a small form factor workstation from Hewlett Packard. When I think workstation, I generally think of relatively large, powerful machines with lots of room for expansion. To be fair, while this is a small form factor machine, it did come with pretty powerful options. Mine includes the following:

    • CPU: i5-3570 @ 3.4 GHz
    • RAM: 16 GB DDR3-1600 / PC3-12800
    • Video: AMD FirePro V3900
    • Hard Drive: Seagate ST3250410As (250 GB)

    For more detailed hardware info, checkout the reports from HWiNFO and CPU-Z.

    The CPU in this one is more mid-range but i7 and Xeon processors were available with this model. So while it’s definitely not very expandable, It still made for a reasonably powerful workstation…at least if you don’t need multiple CPUs or higher end GPUs.

    As mentioned above, the CPU in this machine is a mid-range option. The two most power CPUs available for it are the i7-3770 and the Xeon E3-1290v2. This Xeon and i7 are pretty close in terms of specs. The Xeon has a slight clock speed advantage and uses a little bit more power. Oddly, various benchmarks I’ve seen show the i7 coming out on top slightly. I have no idea why but it would seem to be the best choice for this machine especially given that it uses a little less power than the Xeon. the i7 is essentially the same as the i5 except that the i7 is hyperthreaded and the i5 is not.

    This machine already has a reasonably healthy amount of RAM at 16 GB. Officially, it supports up to 32 GB. I’ve seen people ask whether or not you can use 16 GB DIMMs in this machine but haven’t seen a definitive answer.

    Because of the limitations of the power supply, GPU choices are somewhat limited. Not to mention the fact that you need to use a low profile card. For a more modern upgrade, you could probably use something like a GT 1030 or GTX 1650…something that you can find a low profile version of and that doesn’t take an external power connector.

    This machine isn’t old enough to really consider it to be “retro”. At least I don’t. In fact, it still works perfectly well as a modern machine. It’s plenty fast enough as is for pretty much anything most people do on a computer. It’s only if you are interested in modern gaming or something that requires more computational muscle (like video processing or AI) that you would find this machine a bit lacking. There’s also still a modest upgrade path. A higher end i7 or Xeon processor will give you better multitasking capabilities and you can take it up to 32 GB if you feel the need. Even a somewhat more powerful video card is possible along with, of course, an SSD drive. This machine is not supported by Windows 11 but this seems to only be because of Microsoft’s attempts at intentional obsolescence. There are ways to install Windows 11 if you really want to or Linux works just fine as well.

    Like all of the machines I use, I’ve installed BOINC and have it attached to several projects. When powered on, it is crunching tasks for Einstein@home, Milkyway@home, Asteroids@home, Rosetta@home and World Community Grid. You can also see how it is doing overall at FreeDC.


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