• Tag Archives Commodore 64

  • Info (September 1989)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Info was a magazine for Commodore computer owners. The unique thing about it was that it was also produced using Commodore computers, the Commodore 64 in the early days and later on the Amiga. By 1989, focus had definitely shifted to the Amiga but it was still covering the Commodore 64. The September 1989 issue includes:

    Features

    • Video Boot Camp – A guide to using the Amiga as a video workstation. Includes discussions of Deluxe Paint, external video adapters, genlock devices, digitizers, and more.
    • Video Hardware Roundup – A look at tons of video hardware for the Amiga including video encoders (C-View, ENC-1, A520 Video Adaptor, etc.), Genlocks (Minigen, Progen, Amigen, Supergen, Scanlock, etc.), video digitizers (Perfect Vision, Framegrabber, Live!, Digiview Gold 3.0, etc.), and more.
    • Interview: Gail Wellington – An interview with Commodore’s General Manager of Software & Product Support.
    • Building a Super Amiga – The Amiga, through software and add-on hardware, could be configured to run IBM PC or Macintosh software as well as Amiga software. There was also a version of Unix created for it. This article goes through customizing an Amiga to be able to do all of this and more. The configuration presented here includes an Amiga 2000 with a 100 MB SCSI hard card, a 68030 upgrade card with 8MB of RAM (total 9MB system ram), Commodore’s A2286 Bridgeboard, and more.

    Departments

    • INFOtorial – News on a couple of Amiga related publications ceasing operations including Commodore Magazine and Robo City News.
    • Reader Mail – Mail from readers including one letter from Electronics Boutique about their decision to no longer sell hardware though they mention still selling software for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II, Macintosh and PC compatibles.
    • News & Views – King James Bible now available on disk for the Amiga; Commodore has a new president; Commodore sponsors Library of Congress exhibit; rumors of Hewlett Packard buying Commodore; and more.
    • New Products – A look at recent releases including a new package from Broderbund called The Family Software Library (includes Bank Street Writer, Type!, and Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego?), the Lattice Communications Library for the Amiga, The Accountant for the Amiga, Argus AniMagic animation software for the Amiga, and more.
    • Magazine Index – A look at what’s been in recent Commodore related magazines including Amiga World, Amazing Computing, The Amiga Sentry, Amiga User International, Byte, Commodore Magazine, Compute!’s Gazette, Computer Shopper, Run, Amiga Transactor, Transactor, AmigaTimes, Amnows, Jumpdisk and Amiga Resource.
    • Games for Amiga – Reviews of new games for the Amiga including Dragon’s Lair II (preview), Archipelagos, Deja Vu II: Lost In Las Vegas, Fright Night, Jack Nicklaus, Gunship, Arthur, Time and Magik, Kingdoms of England, The Last Inca, Fast Break, Vegas Gambler, Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom, Titan, Battle Squadron (preview), Robot Reader: The Three Bears, Dinosaurs are Forever, and Uncle D’s Con Sound Tration.
    • Games for C64 – Reviews of new games for the Commodore 64 including Risk, Menace, Qix, Total Eclipse, Destroyer Escort, Axe of Rage, Baal, Hostage, Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn, Project Firestart, Keith Van Eron’s Pro Soccer, and Navy Seal.
    • Public Domain – A look at recent public domain software including three GEOS Utilities (Blue Pencil 1.0, Switcher 1.3, and Printmate), Tic Tock Toe (Tic Tac Toe game with time limits), Flip-Flop (a board game reminiscent of checkers), Authenticalc II (calculator), and much more.

    Reviews

    • Hometown, U.S.A. – Software for the Commodore 64 for creating paper toys.
    • 3D Options – Software for the Amiga that converts IFF bitmapped images into structured drawings.
    • Anti-Virus – Prevents bootblock and worm infections on the Amiga.
    • V.I.P. – Virus Infection Protection protects the Amiga from viruses by keeping a copy of the bootblock.
    • Toshiba 321SLC – A high-end $899 24-pin color dot-matrix printer.
    • Viking I – A 19-inch high-resolution (up to 1008×800) monochrome monitor for the Amiga.
    • A-Max – A Macintosh emulator for the Amiga.

    ETC.

    • Show Reports – Reports from Amiga Festival in San Francisco, World of Commodore Los Angeles, CES Chicago, and Amiga Devcon.
    • BRYCE – A regular comic strip featured in Info.

    …and more!


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  • Compute!’s Gazette (November 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute!’s Gazette was a Commodore 8-bit specific spin-off of their main publication which was just called Compute!. While I mostly bought Commodore Magazine and RUN because they happened to be available within bike riding distance, Gazette was definitely one of the more popular Commodore 64 magazines. The November 1985 issue includes:

    Features

    • CD-ROMS: The Ultimate Database – CD-ROM storage for personal computer use wouldn’t become mainstream for almost another decade but the technology existed long before. Here’s a look at early CD-ROM tech including the new CDU-1 from Sony.
    • Anatomy of a Spreadsheet – For a long time, the spreadsheet was THE killer app for personal computers. Here’s a look at some of the spreadsheet software available for Commodore 8-bit computers.
    • Getting the Most Out of Your Printer – An article that addresses common printer problems and their solutions (or how to avoid them in the first place).

    Reviews

    • Field of Fire – A World War II infantry strategy game from SSI.
    • Homewriter 10 Printer – An inexpensive easy to use dot-matrix printer from Epson for the Commodore 128, Commodore 64, and VIC-20.
    • Project: Space Station – A simulation of planning, building, and operating a space station from HesWare.
    • Carriers at War – A game from SSG that puts you in charge of various aircraft carriers during World War II.
    • Mickey’s Space Adventure – An educational game about the planets from Sierra On-Line featuring Mickey Mouse.
    • Also Worth Noting – A brief look at other new software including Adventure Construction Set, The Sea Voyagers, Homebase, Colonial Conquest, Show Director, and Rescue On Fractalus!

    Games

    • Backgammon – A type-in version of this classic game for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Plus/4 and C-16.
    • Power Poker – A type-in poker game that features play on a 5×5 grid.
    • Chicken Catcher – A type-in arcade style game in which you must catch falling chickens in a net.

    Education/Home Applications

    • 64 Music Maker – A short type-in machine language program that turns the Commodore 64 into a musical keyboard.
    • Computing for Families: Gobbledygook Processing – A look at ways to turn your Commodore 64 into a sandbox for kids to explore.

    Programming

    • Exploring 128 BASIC – BASIC 7.0 was much more powerful than previous BASIC versions for Commodore computers. This article looks at some of the new commands and provides examples for the Commodore 128.
    • Power BASIC: Screen Customizer – A type-in utility that will allow you to set your screen colors and keep them from changing even when using other machine language programs. For the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • Auto File – A type-in utility that automatically loads and runs both BASIC and machine language programs on the Commodore 64.
    • Preview-80 for Speedscript – The display on a Commodore 64 was only 40 columns but this type-in utility would allow you to preview SpeedScript files in 80 columns.
    • Disk Encoder – A type-in program for encrypting your disk files.
    • Digi-Clock – A type-in real-time clock for the Commodore 64 that stays resident in memory and operates even when running other programs.
    • BASIC Magic: More About Screen Titles – The second part in a series on creating screen titles with the Commodore 64 and VIC-20. This part discusses the LEN command.
    • Machine Language for Beginners: ML Mailbag – Questions answered about SYS commands, flags, and more.
    • Hints & Tips: 64 Disk Boot for BASIC Programs – A guide to making your programs automatically run after loading.

    Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – Commodore’s great computers and poor marketing.
    • Gazette Feedback – Letters from readers about typing on a powered off computer, resaving a program, DATA statements, TurboTape, doublespacing on the 1526 printer, random numbers, making text flash, telecommunications costs, saving data in sequential files, customizing the cursor, and more.
    • Simple Answers to Common Questions – Questions answered about EEPROMs and parsers.
    • Horizons: A New Data Storage Device – A look at the Quick Data Drive (QDD). This was a so-called “stringy floppy” that used magnetic tape in a continuous loop.
    • News & Products – A brief look at new software and hardware including General Ledger and Payroll from Info Designs, new printers from Blue Chip Electronics, Hardball from Accolade, new MIDI hardware and software from Passport Designs, a new printer interface from Omnitronix, Grade Manager III for the Commodore 64/128 from Smoky Mountain Software, Karate Champ from Data East, International Hockey from Artworx, more Print Shop graphics, Silent Service from Broderbund, and much more.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (September 1987)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute! was one of the most popular multi-format computer magazines of the 1980s. In 1987 it was covering the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PC, Amiga, and maybe others. The September 1987 issue includes:

    Features

    • Computers in the Classroom: Ten Years and Counting – A look back at the history of computers in the classroom and what lies ahead.
    • Computer Learning Month: An Enthusiastic Start – October 1987 was to be the first computer learnig month featuring a wide variety of contests, meetings, and other events across the country highlighting computers in education.
    • Monte Carlo – A type-in solitaire card game in BASIC for the Commodore 64, IBM PC, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST, and Atari 8-bit computers.
    • I Didn’t Know You Could Do That with a Computer! – A look at what computers can do and the software available to do it that goes beyond typical wordprocessing and spreadsheet tasks. Software is mentioned here for genealogy, career management, designing houses, gaming, health and fitness, and more.

    Reviews

    • ProWrite for the Amiga – A word processing application with graphics capabilities.
    • Tornado Notes – A memory resident note taking program for the IBM PC.
    • Warship – A naval combat strategy game from SSI for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit.
    • PHM Pegasus – A game in which you command a NATO hydrofoil for the Apple II and Commodore 64.
    • Create a Calendar – A calendar creation program from Epyx for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – Results of a recent survey indicate that the most popular programming languages among programmers are BASIC, Fortran, C, and Pascal.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Letters from readers about text color on the PC, printing with a serial printer using SpeedScript on the Commodore 64, creating an adventure game on the Atari 800XL, programming reference books for the Atari ST, and more.
    • The Beginner’s Page: Interactive Programming – Creating programs in BASIC that rely on user input.
    • The World Inside the Computer: Music, Video, and FOR-NEXT Loops – A look at the classroom of the future.
    • Microscope: The Micros Market Gets Serious – The disappearing distinction betweeh “home computers” and “business computers”.
    • Telecomputing Today: Just When You Though It Was Safe – The FCC adds surcharges for phone line computer use, Worldport display prototype of 2400bps pocket sized modem, Tymnet increases prices, and more.
    • Computers and Society: The Classroom Computer – A Tool For Teachers – Computers as a tool for teachers.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – Machine Langauge Graphics – A tutorial for creating graphics using machine language on Atari 8-bit machines.
    • ST Outlook: One Last Bug – A look at one of the worst BASIC bugs of all time.
    • IBM Personal Computing: Create a Blues Symphony – A look at The Music Feature, a high quality music synthesizer on a full-lenth expansion card for the IBM PC XT, AT, and PS/2 Model 30.
    • AmigaView: The Great Amiga Reboot – Commodore releases the new and lower cost Amiga 500.

    The Journal

    • Smart Alec – A machine language program for the Commodore 64 that simulates human thinking.
    • QuickChange: Easy Color Setting for the IBM PC/jr – A program for the PC and PCjr that allows you to easily customize border, background, and forground colors.
    • Atari BASIC Search and Destroy – A type-in program for the Atari 8-bit that will allow you to search a BASIC program for any string of characters.
    • Audio Recorder for Apple II – A type-in program for the Apple II that will allow you to add digitally recorded sound and music to your own programs.
    • Amiga SuperMenus – A type-in program that enhances Amiga BASIC’s MENU command.
    • Atari XL/XE Hidden RAM – A way to access the 8K of RAM under BASIC ROMs on Atari XL and XE computers.
    • Amiga and 64 Ramdisk Files – Examples for creating RAMdisks on the Amiga and the Commodore 64 with 1764 RAM expansion module.
    • Applesoft Line Lister – A short type-in utility that simplifies BASIC program listings on the Apple II.
    • 64+ – A type-in utility for the Commodore 64 that adds new commands that make editing and programming easier.

    …and more!


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