• Tag Archives Byte

  • Byte (September 1981)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Byte – September 1981

    The IBM PC was introduced around the same time this issue of Byte was on the stands. If you had a personal computer at the time, it was most likely an Atari, Apple II, Commodore, TRS-80 or something built from a kit. Byte also covered what were called “small systems”. I guess you could think of those as the rough equivalent of workstations for a business environment. The September 1981 issue of Byte includes:

    Features

    • A Look at NCC ’81 – The 1981 National Computer Conference held in Chicago May 4th-May 7th. Some of the many things seen there include the BMC IF-800 microcomputer, LEX-21 portable terminal, the Corvus Omninet, BASF’s slimline 5.25-inch flopy-disk drives, The TRS-80 Color Computer, The Xerox Star, the Sony Typecorder, a half-width 8-inch floppy drive from Tandon and much more.
    • Build an Unlimited-Vocabulary Speech Synthesizer – A guide for building your own speech synthesizer.
    • The Xerox Alto Computer – Xerox designed the Alto as a development tool for Xerox. However, they also donated 50 machines to various educational institutions for research. It consists of a vertically oriented graphics display, a mouse which was a Xerox innovation, two 3MB hard drives, and a “processor” composed of medium- and small-scale TTL integrated circuits. One would set you back about $32,000 in 1981 dollars.
    • Tree Searching, Part 1: Basic Techniques – Techniques for searching trees, e.g. the traveling-salesman problem of finding the shortest route through multiple cities.
    • One Step Forward – Three Steps Backup, Computing In the US Space Program – Space rating computers often means they are obsolete before they fly. Some of the testing includes repeated heating and cooling from +50 Celsius to -50 Celsius, mechanical shocks, electromagnetic interference, radiation, withstand up to 30G, intensive use for several years without any failures, etc. This article goes into more detail on the requirements for different types of space missions (near earth orbit, manned, planetary), space-rating microprocessors, tasks such computer perform, and much more.
    • Artificial Intelligence – As you can see, AI is hardly a new topic. This article focuses on using AI to organize vast amounts of data.
    • A High-Level Language Benchmark – A variation of the Sieve of Eratosthenes algorithm that can be easily implemented in a variety of languages to test performance.
    • Science Fiction’s Intelligent Computers – A look at the computers of tomorrow as imagined in sci-fi novels.
    • Symbolic Differentiation via LISP – Using LISP in symbolic mathematics. The author created his on LISP interpreter on the TRS-80 Model I.
    • Knowledge-Based Expert Systems – A look at knowledge-based expert systems and how they work. Includes a demo in BASIC for personal computers.
    • The Atari Tutorial, Part 1: The Display List – The first in a series of articles on the technical capabilities of Atari computers adapted from the forthcoming book, De Re Atari. This part focuses on the graphical capabilities of the Atari.
    • Natural-Language Processing, The Field Perspective – A look at what it takes to create a computer that can communicate like a human.
    • The Emperor’s Old Clothes – A transcript of Professor Hoare’s 1980 Turing Award Lecture. Professor Hoare made many important contributions to computer science including the development of Quicksort, various advanced data structuring techniques, work in axiomatic semantics, and much more.

    Reviews

    • The Big Board: A Z80 System in Kit – The Big Board is a single board computer manufactured by Digital Research that includes 64K RAM, 24-line by 80-character video generator, keyboard interface, room for four 2K ROMs, and a floppy controller with options for parallel and serial ports and an on-board timer. This board cost $650. For an extra $50 they would solder the sockets for you. Then you just have to provide your own disk drive, cabinet/case, power supply, keyboard and monitor. A custom version of CP/M 2.2 was also available for it.
    • Misosys Software’s DISKMOD – A utlity that will conver Radio Shack’s cassette based editor/assembler for the TRS-80 Model I into a disk based version.
    • MINCE – A text editor for the 8080 family of computers and CP/M.
    • BYTE’s Arcade: Big Five Software – A look at three games from Big Five Software for the TRS-80 Model I/III including Attack Force, Cosmic Fighter, and Galaxy Invasion. Plus a review of The Prisoner, a graphics adventure game based on the TV series of the same name for the Apple II.
    • Three Microcomputer LISPs – A look at three different LISP packages including mLISP/mSTAR-80 for 8080/Z80 machines running CP/M, (T.(L.C)) LISP version 1.07 for Z-80 based computers running CP/M, and Cromenco LISP version 1.06 for Z-80 based computers running Cromenco’s CDOS or Cromix.
    • Interactive Fiction: Six Micro Stories – A title from Adventure International that includes six mini text adventure games.

    Nucleus

    • Letters – Letters from readers regarding MIT Apple Logo, software piracy, programming compared to essay writing, a defense of Vikings, and more.
    • Book Reviews – A review of Principles of Artificial Intelligence by Nils J Nilsson.
    • Programming Quickies – A demonstration of changing a FOR…NEXT loop into a REPEAT…UNTIL loop.
    • BYTELINES – Tandy plans to double its hardware and software products within the next six months, Zilog to introduce and enhanced Z80 called the Z800, Commodore introduces 6508 processor, Sony starts providing OEMs with samples of its new 3.5-inch “microfloppy” disk drives, and more.
    • Ask BYTE – Questions answered about the safety of double-siding floppy disks, developing a proximity warning system for cars, expanding memory on Atari 400 and Atari 800 computers, and more.
    • BYTE’s Bits – Info about a new publisher for The Apple Shoppe Magazine, Microsoft stops work on APL interpreter, and more.
    • Technical Forum – The pitfalls of using computers for record keeping as it relates to the IRS, a technique for comparing two signals on an oscilloscope, and how to build an inexpensive cassette level indicator.
    • System Notes – A program listing for a Z80 memory test program.
    • What’s New? – The Stratos 4 MHz Z80 based computer, the Rair Microcomputer Black Box 3/30 (5 MB hard drive + floppy drive), the K-8073 single board computer, The LNW80 computer compatible with the TRS-80, the Xerox 820 microcomputer, the Sierra 4000 S-100, Z80-based computer, and more.

    …and more!


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  • Byte (March 1981)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Byte – March 1981

    Computer magazines have been around for a really long time. Or may I should say ‘were’ at this point as you can find no general computer magazines on the shelf these days. Anyway, Byte was first published starting in 1975. This issue is from March 1981 which was still roughly six months before the IBM PC was introduced. There were still plenty of home computers from Commodore, Atari, Apple and others as well as numerous CP/M based machines and other unique computers. This issue weighs in at almost 400 pages and includes:

    Features

    • Structured Programming and Structured Flowcharts – An introduction to structured programming which could be accomplished in virtually any language with a goto statement.
    • Build the Disk-80: Memory Expansion and Floppy-Disk Control – A do-it-yourself hardware project in which you build an expansion interface for the TRS-80 model I that includes both expanded memory (up to 32K) and a floppy disk controller.
    • Three-Dimensional Computer Graphics, Part 1 – The part in a series on generating 3D polygonal graphics. Mostly this goes over the math involved.
    • What is Good Documentation? – A guide to producing good hardware and software documentation with minimal jargon.
    • A Beginner’s Guide to Spectral Analysis, Part 2 – Part 1 introduced ideas behind the Fourier transform. This part extends those ideas into two-dimensional space. Includes examples in 6502 machine-language.
    • A Simple Approach to Data Smoothing – Techniques to smooth out statistical fluctuations in data in order to find underlying trends.
    • The New Literacy: Programming Languages as Languages – A comparison of computer/programming languages vs. human languages.
    • Computer Music: A Design Tutorial – This article starts out by saying “The computational power necessary to synthesize high-quality, polyphonic computer music in real time exceeds the resources of the currently available microprocessors.” How far we have come. This article covers one approach to frequency synthesis.

    Reviews

    • The Micro Matrix Photopoint Light Pen – Light pens were once a popular way to interface with a computer. Ultimately, the mouse took over that roll. This review looks at one such light pen and some software that supports it.
    • What’s Inside Radio Shack’s Color Computer? – A detailed and technical look at the then new Tandy Color Computer. The Color Computer featured the partially 16-bit MC6809E CPU and up to 16K. While Radio Shack supported the Color Computer for more than a decade, it never really gained the popularity of machines like the Apple II, Atari 400/800, Commodore 64, VIC-20, etc. There are no good sales numbers but best guess seems to be that about 500,000 units were sold all the CoCo models combined. I had a neighbor that had a Coco 3 back in the day.

    Nucleus

    • Editorial: Is This Really Necessary? – An editorial on design techniques.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about technical writing, Intel’s educational products, SuperBrain upgrade costs, muSIMP for the TRS-80 Model I, and more.
    • Programming Quickies – Short BASIC programs for computing the determinant of a Matrix and displaying constellations.
    • Languages Forum: A Coding Sheet for FORTH – A form for creating a graphical representation of the stack in FORTH.
    • Byte’s Bits – News bits including an IEEE study on terminals, a computer camp for kids 10-18, an online service for the TI-99/4, research for using computers to aid the handicapped, and more.
    • Technical Forum – A BASIC program that converts object code to data statements; a comparison of addition and subtraction operations between the 1802 and Z-80 processors; and a design for a simple video switch.
    • Desk-Top Wonders: Hunt the Wumpus with Your HP-41C – A type in version of this popular (at the time) game for the HP-41C programmable calculator.
    • System Notes: Software Addressing Modes for the 8080 – Various ways of addressing memory on the 8080 processor.
    • Bytelines – The latest personal computer related news including a new software copyright law, a new 68000 S-100 bus based computer, a 5 Megabyte hard drive for under $2000, sales of Japanese made computers drop sharply in the U.S., wristwatch-sized computer proposed, the Cray-1 and CDC Cyber 205 top the list of the worlds fastest computers, work begins on plasma and LCD based flat panel displays, experimental robot destroys itself at the University of Florida, Xerox introduces first Ethernet system, IBM opens retail stores, ex-employee fined $50,000 for stealing his former employers software and using it in a competing business, Federal auditors discover over 200 government employees using computers at the Sandia Nuclear Weapons Research Center for things like playing games, and much more.
    • Ask Byte – Questions answered about building a modem, home automation with the X-10, upper and lower-case letters on the TRS-80 Model II, and more.
    • What’s New? – A look at new products including an 8088-based board for the S-100 bus; a new microcomputer from DTC featuring 64K RAM, an 8085A-1 CPU, and more; the IMP2-Apple printer designed for the Apple II; the Model 7728 Centronics Printer Interface for the Apple II; a new family of 3.19 to 11.5 megabyte 5-inch hard drives from Tandon; the new VIC-20 computer from Commodore; and more.

    …and more!


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  • Byte (September 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Byte – September 1985

    Subtitled “The Small Systems Journal”, Byte covered a wide variety of home and hobby computers in its earlier days. Towards the end of its life, it became more of a standard PC magazine. In 1985, however, it was large (almost 500 pages for this issue) and covered a lot. The September 1985 issue includes:

    Features

    • Ciarcia’s Circuit Cellar: Build the SB180 Single-Board Computer – The SB180 was a single board computer featuring a 6 MHz HD64180 processor from Hitachi that was Z80 code compatible and could directly address 512KB of RAM (as opposed to the more limited 64K that the Z80 could directly address). This first part of a two part series focuses on the hardware.
    • Programming Project: An Analysis of Sorts – A look at the algorithms and speed of various sorting algorithms including the selection sort, merge sort, and quick sort.
    • The DSI-32 Coprocessor Board, Part 2: The Software – The second of a two part series on the DSI-32 co-processor board for the IBM PC. The co-processor in this case is the National Semiconductor 32032. This part focuses on the software.
    • An Algorithm for Disk Caching with Limited Memory – A set of C-language routines for caching data from floppy disks.
    • Astrophysical Number Crunching – A history of the use of “personal computers” in theoretical astrophysics. Or at least the history from one astrophysicist’s perspective.
    • Two Generalized Floating-Point Representations – A look at both a partitioned representation which allows a trade-off between range and precision and a variable-based representation featuring a larger range but fixed accuracy.
    • Turbo Pascal Drives the Mouse – Two Turbo Pascal procedures that you can use to interface your programs with a mouse.
    • IBM Compatibility for the NEC APC III – It was not uncommon in the early to mid 1980s for computers to have limited or no IBM PC compatibility even thought they had the same basic architecture. A patch is presented here that gives the NEC APC III compatibility with at least some PC apps.
    • Programming Insight: Printing Pascal Graphics – A routine for dumping Pascal graphics on the Apple II to any Epson MX Printer.

    Themes

    • EGO: A Hombuilt CPU, Part I: The Software – The first of a two-part series on the author’s experience crating a homemade CPU. This part focuses on the instruction set.
    • The Quarter-Meg Atari 800XL – Upgrading your Atari 800XL all the way to 256K and turning some of that RAM into a RAMdisk. This article includes a parts list and instructions for constructing your own 256K expansion.
    • A Parallel-To-Serial Printer Port Adapter – Instructions for building a $35 parallel-to-serial printer port adapter that will allow you to connect a serial printer to your parallel port.
    • Add Function Keys to your Microcomputer – Instructions for building a function-key-generator circuit. The idea is to let you add additional keys to your keyboard via an attachment (similar to an external numeric pad) and then be able to program those keys to perform various functions (up to 15 keystrokes).

    Reviews

    • Reviewer’s Notebook – A brief look at upcoming products including the HP 110 Portable Plus and a WORM drive featuring a 400MB capacity for a mere $5000.
    • The Kaypro 16 – A portable PC compatible featuring two floppy drives (or one flopp drive and one hard drive) and 256K of RAM for $2295 to $3295 depending on whether you want that hard drive or not.
    • The Osborne 3 – Another portable PC compatible featuring an 80C86 running at 3.5 MHz, two 5.25″ disk drives, 256K RAM and an LCD (80 characters x 16 lines). It’s only partially PC compatible though and will not work with programs that directly address the hardware.
    • WordStar 2000 – A new easier to use version of this word processor for MS-DOS 2.0. It cost between $500 and $600 depending on whether you got the plus version or not.
    • XyWrite II Plus – A less expensive word processor ($300). It was somewhat unique in that many of its commands were done through a command line interface vs. menus.
    • Filevision – A visual data management system for the Macintosh.
    • DB Master for the Macintosh – A simple to use database managment system for the Macintosh.
    • Paradise Modular Graphics Card – A graphics card from Paradise that could display both color graphics on an RGB monitor and or 16 shades on a monochrome monitor (16 shades). It was common at the time for you to need two different video cards if you wanted to be able to display on both color and monochrome monitors.
    • The RAMDISK-64 – A RAMdisk device for the Commodore 64 that simulates a disk drive. It comes with 64K of RAM for $149 and is expandable up to 256K.
    • Keyport 717 – A programmable membrane keyboard for the Apple II. It has 717 key locations that can be programmed to be whatever you want.

    Kernel

    • Computing At Chaos Manor: PC’s, Peripherals, Programs, and People – Jerry Pournelle reports on a joint press conference by Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s William Gates in which they announced Excel for the Macintosh and Switcher, a program that allows you to switch between programs on the Mac. Plus a look at a lot of other products including a new version of BASIC.
    • Byte U.K.: Seventh Anniversary of Microcomputing – A condensed history of personal computing in Britain for the 10th anniversary of Byte. Plus a look at the Husky Hunter.
    • Byte Japan: A History of Japan’s Microcomputers – Some of the computers covered here include the TLCS-12, uCOM-4, uCOM-8, uCOM-16, NEC 700, TK-80, MZ-80, and PC-8001.
    • According to Webster: West Coast Faire, Mac Stuff, and the Amiga – The West Coast Computer Faire isn’t what it used to be; Apple to offer ROM upgrade for the Mac but only for those that haven’t done their own mods; the Amiga shines as the only easily expandable new low cost computer; and more.
    • Mathematical Recreations – Dealing with irrational numbers (like Pi) in BASIC.
    • Circuit Cellar Feedback – TI-99/4A memory expansion, monitoring phone calls from a 6809 single-board computer, books on building computers, and more.
    • Bytelines – Verbatim demonstrates 47 megabyte 3.5″ erasable optical disk; top ten microcomputer makers include IBM, Apple and Commodore at the top; Apple experiences first quarterly loss; and more.

    Departments

    • Editorial – Looking back at the last 10 years of personal computers plus, helping The Computer Museum expand its exhibits.
    • Microbytes – Optical drives, CD-ROMs, image scanners and laser printers show up at the National Computer Conference in Chicago; Motorolla asks FCC to allow radio LANs; Epson, ABC and Indesys signed agreement to deliver electronic info over FM radio station; and more.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about the AT&T PC 6300, DEC’s Rainbow, the IBM PC (a vote against coverage), more powerful BASIC, and more.
    • What’s New – A brief look at new products including the SwyftCard for the Apple IIe, VP-Planner from Paperback Software, Corvus Cheetah 68010 based workstation, the Megadata 8300 Model Seven 68000 based Unix workstation, 10 and 20 megabyte hard drives from HP, and more.
    • Ask Byte – Questions answered about a computer for a starship, S-100 emulator boards, the Radio Shack PC-3 pocket computer, and more.
    • Book Reviews – Reviews of A Computer & Communications Network Analysis Primer, Applied Programming Techniques in C, Diagramming Techniques for Analysts and Programmers, and Introduction to Computer Engineering.

    …and more!


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