• Tag Archives 1980s

  • Byte (February 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Among the mainstream computer magazines at the time, Byte tended to be the most technical. Unlike PC specific magazines such as PC Magazine and PC World, Byte also covered non-PC systems, at least for as long as they were viable. The February 1988 issue includes:

    Products in Perspective

    • What’s New – The MPP 286 line of computers, The Toshiba T3200 portable, the CompuPro Mp 200 series of parallel processing multiuser systems, 2400bps laptop modems, the CDR-3500 Hitachi CD-ROM drive, Commodious 20 MB hard drive for PS/2 Model 25, WM-S500 WORM drive (can store 2 GB on each side of a 12-inch disc), GigaStore storage device that uses VHS to store up to 2.5 GB, and lots more.
    • Short Takes – Short reviews of the QuickShare (PC card designed to share a Mac hard drive), Lotus Agenda, Word 4.0, Tax Preparer, Ask Dan About Taxes, and more.

    Cover Story

    • Multiscan Color Monitors – An overview of fourteen monitors including the Conrac 7250, Electrohome ECM 1310, 1312, and 1910, Logitech Autosync, Magnavox MultiMode, Mitsubishi Diamond Scan, Nanao Flexscan, NEC MultiSync Plus, NEC MultiSync XL, Princeton Graphic Ultrasync, Sony Multiscan, Taxan Multivision, and Thompson Ultrascan.

    Reviews

    • Compaq Flexes Its Muscles – A look at Compaq’s 386/20. It included a 20 MHz 386 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, 1.2 MB 5.25″ floppy drive, and a 60 MB hard drive (or larger). It was the fastest PC you could get at the time but expensive starting at $7499.
    • The Tandy 4000 – This was Tandy’s 386 based system. While not quite as advanced as Compaq’s overall, it was a solid machine for less money. It included a 3.5″ 1.44 MB disk drive and 1 MB of RAM for $2599. For $5977 you could get an EGA monitor, 40 MB hard drive and some other additions.
    • Datavue’s Spark and Snap 1 + 1 – A look at two laptops. The Snap 1 + 1 features an NEC V20 CPU, 640K RAM, and two 720K disk drives. The Spark features an NEC V20 CPU, 384K RAM, and one 720K drive. There are also various screen, hard drive, and other expansion options.
    • Micro Channel Memory Boards – A look at three memory expansion boards for the PS/2 Models 50 and 60 that add up to 8 MB of RAM. Prices range from $840 to $4170 depending on the board and RAM amount.
    • A Quintet of WORMs – A look at some early optical drives with prices ranging from $2500 to over $4000.
    • Turbo Pascal 4.0 – The latest version of Borland’s Pascal compiler.
    • MPW C for the Mac – A C compiler for The Macintosh Programmers’ Workshop.
    • dBASE Mac vs. McMax – A comparison of these two database managers for the Macintosh.
    • MathCAD 2.0 – MathCAD combines number-crunching and documentation into one tool.
    • RS/1 Research System – A statistical package with versions for the PC, XT, and AT.

    Columns

    • Computing at Chaos Manor: Life after Las Vegas – A discussion of various products including Time Bandits, Cyber Studio, Donald Duck’s Playground (I remember playing this game on the Commodore 64), Earl Weaver Baseball, HiSoft BASIC, Atari ST Mega 2 and Mega 4, Sota MotherCard 5.0, 386-to-the-Max, VM/386, Wizard’s Crown, and more.
    • Applications Only: Shortucts for Simplicity – The potential for OS/2 to fragment the PC standard, plus discussion of MacinTax, TaxView, TopDOS, PowerStation and more.

    In Depth: Lisp

    • Lisp: A language for Stratified Design – Creating abstraction with Lisp.
    • Semantics of Scheme – Lisp was one of the first languages used for artificial intelligence. Scheme is a particular implementation of Lisp and one that I used in my very first computer science class in college.
    • How Lisp Has Changed – Lisp was already 30 years old at this point. It had been almost abandoned but was experiencing somewhat of a resurgence. This looks at how it has changed over the years.

    Features

    • LIM/EMS – The Lotus/Intel/Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification adds a variety of improvements in version 4.0.
    • The DSI Transputer Development System – A card for parallel computing on the PC.
    • Ciarcia’s Circuit Cellar: The BCC180 Multitasking Controller Part 2: EPROMs an Compilers – A project for building a single-board computer/controller with multitasking capabilities based on the Hitachi HD64180 CPU.

    Departments

    • Editorial: News and Technology – Some notes on changes to the magazine starting with this issue.
    • Microbytes – HP’s NewWave application environment, the Matrix I supercomputer based on older hardware, and lots more.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about creating CRCs, High C 386 compiler, Fibonacci numbers with APL on a 286, and more.
    • Ask BYTE – Questions answered about Turbo Pascal 3, PC security, building an analog-to-digital converter, and more.
    • Book Reviews – Reviews of A Programmer’s Guide to Common Lisp, The Scheme Programming Language, The Little Lisper, and The Third Apple: Personal Computers and the Cultural Revolution.

    …and lots more!


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  • PC World (January 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – January 1987

    If you had a PC (meaning an IBM PC or compatible) or were thinking of getting one in the 1980s or 1990s, then PC World would probably have been a magazine you would have wanted. The January 1987 issue includes:

    Getting Started

    • PC to PC – A guide to using a modem and terminal software to communicate between PCs.

    Community

    • PC Users Unite! – A guide to PC user groups.

    Review

    • Compaq Deskpro 386: Dare to Be Great – At the time, this was probably one of the best computers you could by, though it wasn’t cheap with a starting price of $6499. Compaq was the first major PC maker to use the 386 chip, beating IBM to the punch.
    • Fast-Talking Modems – A look at a couple of modems that use proprietary protocols to achieve speeds of 12000bps. They are very expensive though with a cost of up to $2395 and not compatible with other modems above 9600bps.
    • Mainframe Copycats – A look at five different terminal programs that emulate VT100 on the PC. These include Persoft SmarTerm 240 Version 1.1, KEA Systems Zstempc-VT100 Version 2.6, Polygon poly-COM/240 Version 1.12, Coefficient Systems Vterm III Version 1.4, and General Micro Systems PC4010 Version 2.0. VT100 emulation would become common across all terminal software.
    • PCs Teach the VAX New Tricks – A look at Datability’s Remote Access Vacility which is software that goes beyond basic terminal functions when used to access a VAX system from a PC.
    • A Bold New Fact – A look at the AST TurboLaser printer which has the ability to emulate a variety of other printers.
    • Alpha/three: Simple, Powerful, Compatible – A review of the Alpha/three DBMS which is compatible with and cheaper (if somewhat slower) than dBASE.

    Hands On

    • The Tailored Tabloid – Using Microsoft Access scripting to create personalized newspapers.
    • 1-2-3 Budget Tune-Up – A look at a 1-2-3 based app for incorporating sales and cost figures into your budget forecasts.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell – A look at some of the most influential people in the PC World. Some of the names here include John Sculley, Bill Gates, Gary Kildall, Michael Dell, and Trip Hawkins among others.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about legal attempts to prevent renting software, tape backup systems, offshore support, The Mist (game from Mindscape), PCs in Czechoslovakia, and more.
    • Harry Miler – A look at the evolution of desktop publishing.
    • PC World View – Bill Gross talks about HAL (Human Access Language), a English language front end for 1-2-3; results of a survey of PC users; Ashton-Tate seeks to become world’s leading source of software; and more.
    • Product Outlook – A look at recent and upcoming products including RapidFile, Wang LapTop, Crosstalk Mark 4, HAL, Ontio 259, and more.
    • From the Software Shelf – First impressions of recent software releases including WordPerfect Library, The Norton Commander, Webster’s New World Writer, BitCom, and more.
    • From the Hardware Shelf – First impressions of recent hardware releases including the Multitech Accel 900 286 based computer, the Sharp PC-7000 “portable” computer, the Core XT26 (26 MB hard drive), Orchid TurboEGA video accelerator, and more.
    • Password: Communicate – A guide to choosing the right 9600bps modem for your application; comparing time and cost on various online services with 300bps vs. 1200bps modems; phone companies having issues with automatic redial; and more.
    • The Help Screen – Questions answered about dealing with the lack of an 8-bit communications protocol when sending documents with 8-bit characters, serial port configuration, and recording computer images to a VCR.
    • *.* – A BASIC program for generating banners, quicksort routines, and more.
    • Kevin Strehlo – Addressing concerns about the IBM PC standard fragmenting.

    …and more!


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