• Tag Archives Commodore 128

  • Run (July/August 1992)

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    Run, July/August 1992

    By 1992 the Commodore 64 was really an outdated relic and this magazine was nearing the end of its days. If the reduced page count wasn’t an indication, then publishing only every other month in the Summer should have been a clue. It still had great content though, if you were a kid (or adult) with a Commodore 64. The July/August 1992 issue includes:

    Features

    • Shareware – Shareware existed even back in the Commodore 64 days. This article does over shareware vs. public domain, where to get shareware, what’s available and more.
    • Downloading From Q-Link – Q-Link was a Commodore 64 dedicated online service and was one of the best ways to download shareware and other files. This is a brief guide on how to find and download stuff on Q-Link.
    • File Types You’ll Encounter – These days opening most kinds of archives is straightforward. That wasn’t always the case. Here’s a guide for some of the various archive and image types you would encounter when downloading stuff for the Commodore 64 and what you need to access them.
    • Look and Load – A type-in program that provides a memory application that can load a disk directory and files with a single button press.
    • Bowl ‘N’ Score – A type-in menu driven program for keeping track of and analyzing bowling scores.
    • GEOS 101 – GEOS was a windowed operating system for the Commodore 64 and a pretty good one, especially considering it ran on an 8-bit processor in 64K of RAM. This article gives an introductory look at GEOS.
    • Ellen’s Rules – A guide for taking care of your computer, including keeping your computer clean, organizing cables, setting things up, disk drive operation and more.
    • Organizing Your Software – A guide to organizing your software, including using a disk catalog manager.
    • Leap Frog – A type-in game in which you control a frog to avoid snakes and swat dragonflies from the sky with your tongue.

    Departments

    • RUNning Ruminations – RUN experiments with different paper types to reduce costs. Plus, a summary of what’s in the magazine.
    • Mail RUN – Readers write in about Jiffy DOS, RAMLink, upgrading, Fun Graphics Machine, producing newsletters, TPUG (Toronto PET User’s Group), and more.
    • Software Gallery
      • The Simpson’s Arcade Game – A decent conversion of the arcade game for the C64.
      • TMNT: The Arcade Game – Another solid arcade conversion for the C64.
      • SWAP – A puzzle game in which you must swap titles to match colors and clear the board.
      • The Blues Brothers – A platform game the plays a bit like Super Mario Bros. only starring the Blues Brothers.
      • Tony La Russa’s Ultimate Baseball – An excellent baseball game from SSI.
    • Magic – Short programs to do a screen print, identify disk drives attached to you Commodore 64, and display a flashing message until a key is pressed.
    • News and New Products – Various new products for computer users.
    • Commodore Clinic – Questions answered about Commodore’s 1581 3.5″ disk drive, using a PC keyboard with a Commodore 128D, geoPublish on the Commodore 128, voice synthesis on the Commodore 64, FSD-2 disk drives, and more.
    • 128 Mode – A type-in program for the Commodore 128 that helps you pick an NCAA basketball tournament bracket based on winning percent, average point spread and a variety of other factors.
    • The Game Plan: How Roundball Roundup Works – Some details about how the above program works, including the formulas used.
    • Curtain Call – A look at an excellent printer for the Commodore 64/128, the Star Micronics NX-2430.

    …and more!


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  • Commodore Magazine (March 1989)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Commodore Magazine, March 1989

    Commodore published a number of official publications over the years with Commodore Magazine being the final one. It covered the Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Amiga. They did a pretty good job covering all three systems as opposed to reducing Commodore 8-bit coverage in favor of the Amiga. However, at the end of 1989 they ceased publication with some of the Commodore 64 columns being absorbed by RUN magazine.

    The March 1989 issue of Commodore Magazine includes:

    Features

    • Making It Pay – This article covers various ways you can make money with your computer. Some examples include writing custom software for businesses, training people how to use common business applications such as word processing and database management programs, keeping track of other people’s stock portfolio’s, typing papers for college students, resumes, etc., preparing tax returns, and more.
    • Impressions of The World of Commodore – A look at the first World of Commodore show in the U.S. (previous shows had all been in Canada). It was held in the Philadelphia Civic Center on the last weekend in November, 1988. There were nearly 70 exhibitors selling Commodore related hardware and software.
    • Cover Story: MIDI Sequencers for the Amiga – While the Atari ST became the preferred machine for MIDI related stuff, the Amiga was quite capable as well. This article gives an overview of some of the MIDI sequencers available at the time, including KCS, Texture, MIDI Magic, Dynamic Studio and Soundscape.

    Reviews

    • 64 and 128 Software Reviews
      • Red Storm Rising – Participate in World War III from the comfort of your Los Angeles Class nuclear submarine. Based on the Tom Clancy book of the same name.
      • Fast Break – A pretty good basketball game from Accolade.
      • Monopoly – A computerized version of the classic board game.
      • Typhoon of Steel – A detailed World War II strategy/war game from SSI.
      • Alcon – A nice arcade conversion from Taito of this vertical shooter.
      • Award Maker Plus – A program for designing and printing award certificates.
    • Amiga Software Reviews
      • Battle Chess – Perhaps the first chess game that was fun to play even if you didn’t like chess.
      • Captain Blood – A sci-fi graphics adventure game from Mindscape in which you get sucked into the universe you created.
      • WordPerfect Library – A collection of five utilities designed to make you more productive, including a calculator, calendar, file manager, notebook and program editor.
      • Torch 2081 – An action strategy game in which you must build a barrier with your Star Defense Glider to protect the planet from fireballs. It plays a bit like Qix.
      • Global Commander – A difficult strategy game in which you play the role of something akin to the head of the U.N. as you try to keep the world from going to war.
      • Ganymed/Bomb Busters – Ganymed is an arcade game with a Star Wars theme that looks like a much more advanced version of Empire Strikes Back on the 2600. In Bomb Busters you must collect all the bombs in each level before they explode while avoiding various whimsical enemies.
    Commodore Magazine
    March 1989, Volume 10, Number 3
    Page 003 (Contents)

    Departments

      • Letters – Letters from readers about mouse cleaning and where to buy Amiga related hardware in Saudi Arabia.
      • News – Commodore announces the Amiga 2000HD and Amiga 2500; the second U.S. World of Commodore show is announced for May 19-21, 1989 at the Los Angeles Convention Center; Commodore and Moniterm Corp. release a high-res monochrome monitor for the Amiga called the Viking 1; Accolade releases Grand Prix Circuit for the Commodore 64 (I spent many hours playing this game); Paragon announces Spider-Man and Captain America in Dr. Doom’s Revenge; Titus Software releases Galactic Conqueror for the Amiga, Electronic Arts releases MacArthur’s War, a Koran War strategy game for the C64; Arcadia releases Double Dragon for the C64; Commodore releases the PC40-II, a 80286 based PC compatible computer; and much more.
      • Projects – Detailed instructions for building a MIDI Interface Device for the Commodore 64 and 128.
      • Technology – A look ahead to the future of malware (a word not yet in use at the time) and the difference between Viruses, Worms and Trojan Horses.
      • Creative Courseware – A look at some educational software for the Commodore 64, including Piece of Cake Math (for ages 7-13) and Fraction Factory (for ages 8-14).
      • Pumping GEOS – A guide to importing images into geoPublish plus other tips and tricks for creating and printing newsletters with geoPublish.
      • Adventure Road – A look at two role-playing/adventure games: Times of Lore, a fantasy role-playing game and Neuromancer, based on William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic.
      • Inside Q-Link – The online service for Commodore 64 owners debuts a new service called Adventure-Link for creating and playing adventure games.
      • Programming
        • BAM Organizer – A type-in disk utility program that lets you easily perform various disk management tasks such as deleting files, renaming files, and locking/unlocking files among other things.
        • Decision Maker – A type-in program designed to help you make decisions between, for example, two different products.
      • 128 Mode – A type-in educational game for the Commodore 128 that helps you learn “sequences” such as the order of presidents, etc.
      • Amiga Update
        • Professional Genlocks – Genlocks are devices designed to perform a variety of functions related to using the Amiga with TV video, including converting RGB to composite video, locking the timing of Amiga generated video to an external video signal and overlaying Amiga generated graphics on top of an input video signal. A summary of several professional Genlock devices are given here, including: SuperGen by Digital Creations, Magni 4004 by Magni Systems, and GEN/ONE by Communications Specialties Inc.
        • Amiga Public Domain – A look at some recent Amiga public domain software including AZComm, a terminal program; Friends, a tool for adding a mouse trail; PcPatch, a tool for copying MS-DOS files on your Amiga; Conman version s1.3, a tool for making the command line interface easier to use; ShoANIM version 5.3, a video player; NotBoingAgain, a demo; and several others.
    Commodore Magazine
    March 1989, Volume 10, Number 3
    Page 114 (Advertisement)
    Cinemaware
    Rocket Ranger (Amiga, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Apple IIgs, Atari ST)

    …and more!


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