• Tag Archives computers

  • PC World (March 1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: PC World – March 1990

    PC World was without a doubt one of the most popular PC magazines of the 1990s. There were still magazines for other types of computers around but they were fading away by the early 1990s. PC World and PC Magazine came to dominate when it came to computer magazines. The March 1990 issue of PC World includes:

    Preview

    • Compaq’s Double-Barreled Server – A preview of Compaq’s new server. It could handle up to two 33-MHz 386 or 486 CPUs and 256 MB of RAM which was absolutely massive for the time. Prices ranged from $15,999 to $25,999 depending on configuration. Adjusted for inflation, at the low end, that’s nearly $40k.
    • The Multiprocessing Payoff: How Side-by-Side CPUs Work – A look at how dual CPU architecture works.
    • New Deal for the Hardcard – Hardcards were hardrives on an expansion card that could plug into an ISA slot. The Hardcard II came in 40 and 80MB varieties at prices of $849 and $999.

    Reviews

    • A Laser on Every Desk – Reviews of under $2000 laser printers including the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIP, Toshiba PageLaser6, Epson EPL-6000, Facit P6060, and Office Automation LaserPro Exec.
    • First-Class Laptops for Frequent Flyers – A look at seven 80286 based laptops designed for travelers. Models looked at here include the Compaq LTE/286, Dauphin LapPro-286, Epson Equity LT-286e, NEC ProSpeed 286, Packard Bell PB286LP, Sharp PC-5541, and Toshiba T1600.
    • Notebook PCs: Early Entries Lack Drive to Succeed – Smaller “notebook” laptops were available but they lacked drives (often of any kind) among other niceties.
    • New Dimensions for Flat Files – A review of basic data management software. Titles include Alpha Four 1.0, DataPerfect 2.0, PC-File:dB 1.1, Professional File 2.01, Q&A 3.0, Reflex 2.0, and Xerox FormBase 1.0.
    • Paint Programs Pass the Screen Test – An overview of available paint programs for the PC including Colorix 1.2, PC Paint 3.1, PC Paintbrush IV, and Splash.

    News

    • Top of the News – New 20-MHz version of the 386SX released; Toshiba introduces to laptops to challenge Compaq; R:base 3.0 released; and more.
    • Industry Outlook – A look at the top PC retailers; Epson challenges leading laser printer makers; PC makers start bundling software with computers; and more.
    • Product Outlook – A look at new and upcoming products including the TurboPS/400 printer, Drafix Windows CAD, Super-386c (a 386 based PC from Hyundai), and much more.

    Features

    • Desktop Multimedia: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – The first multimedia standard included a 386 based PC and CD-ROM drive. However, multimedia really didn’t take off until the late 486 era (circa 1993, a few years after this article).
    • Developer’s Wait for PC HyperCard – Hypercard was an application on the Macintosh that let you build multimedia applications. It was sort of like a web app without the web. At the time, the PC didn’t really have an equivalent. At least not one that was easy to use.
    • The High Price of Multimedia – Multimedia systems were expensive because they required a hard drive, large (for the time) amounts of RAM, a sound card, speakers, and CD-ROM drive. However, prices would drop quickly.
    • Buyers’ Guide: Printer Sharing Made Simple – A look at various expansion boards that allowed you to share your printer among multiple systems.

    How To

    • Mastering 1-2-3 Macro Libraries – Release 2.2 of Lotus 1-2-3 made macros easier to use and more powerful.
    • Tips & Techniques – Adding graphics to your documents with Word 5.0; speed up your 286 based system with a 16-MHz $599 accelerator card; tips for making drive B: look like A:, helping Windows see COM3, and more.

    Perspectives

    • Richard Landry – A discussion of whether or not PCs in the business environment will become a top down directed affair from corporate higher-ups or continue to be driven from the bottom up.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about product differentiation, repetitive-strain injuries, the best shareware data compression, and more.
    • Taking It Home – Saving on taxes with your home office.

    Departments

    • The Help Screen – Questions answered about scientific notation with word processors, using the PATH command, VGA driver compatibility, and more.
    • Consumer Watch – Many top manufacturers have violated the FCC’s regulations regarding radio frequency interference.
    • Network Q&A – Questions answered about upgrading a network, setting up an asynchronous communications server, and more.

    …and more!


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  • Byte (March 1980)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Byte – March 1980

    If you were buying a computer magazine in the early 1980s, there’s a good chance it was Byte. It tended to be technically oriented with lots of projects to build yourself but it also had reviews and other coverage. Some issues were quite large. The March 1980 issue includes:

    Foreground

    • Ease Into 16-Bit Computing: Get 16-Bit Performance From an 8-Bit Computer – A look at Intel’s 8088 CPU, a 16-bit 8086 on the inside with an 8-bit data bus.
    • Electron Behavior in a Chemical Bond – Discussion of and a BASIC implementation of the Schrodinger equation to simulate the behavior of an electron in a diatomic chemical bond.
    • Solving Problems Involving Variable Terrain, Part 2: Special Cases, Including Hexagonal Grids – The second part in a series on calcuating map movements with specific examples for game implementation.
    • A Power-Line Protection Circuit – A design for building your own surge protector.
    • Landing Module Simulation With Random Surface – An implementation of a Lunar Lander type game with M6800 assembler code.
    • The Dirt-Cheap Bootstrap, More Notes on Bringing Up a Microcomputer – Solving problems including single-stepping the processor, transferring data to memory, and using a keyboard or panel to enter data.
    • Hydrocarbon Molecule Constructor – Organic chemistry on the Apple II.
    • Super Tic – A 3D tic-tac-toe game written in BASIC for the North Star.

    Background

    • Hewlett-Packard’s New Personal Computer, The HP-85 – This $3250 personal computer includes a built-in 5-inch display, data cartridge drive, and thermal printer. It is based on a custom 8-bit processor and includes 16K of RAM. One unique feature for its time was the bit-mapped display.
    • TRS-80 Performance, Evaluation By Program Timing – Some BASIC programs for benchmarking the TRS-80.
    • Electronic Planimetry – Using a computer to calculate the area of a two-diemnsional object by tracing its perimeter. The computer used in this article is the Terak 8510.
    • Operation Codes For 8080, 8085, and Z80 Processors – An overview of the opcodes for these CPUs.
    • To Err Is Human – Defining an error correction process for assembly programming.

    Nucleus

    • Editorial: Hunting the Computerized Eclipse – Implementing a computerized control system for photographing solar eclipses.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about building cheap computers, biorhythms, and more.
    • Programming Quickies – Short programs for calculating gear ratios for 10 and 15 speed bikes, performing multiplication and division on the KIM-1, and implementing The Towers of Hanoi puzzle game.
    • BYTE News – France to introduce home terminals, IBM introduces the model 3101 ASCII terminal, Microsoft BASIC to be used on TRS-80 successor, and more.
    • Book Reviews – Reviews of What Computers Can’t Do by Huber L. Dreyfus, Z80 Software Gourmet Guide and Cookbook by Nat Wadsworth, Brain, Mind and Computers by Stanley L. Jaki, and more.
    • BYTE’s Bits – Steve Wozniac receives 1979 ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, new freely available real-time BASIC, and more.
    • Product Review: Lucidata P-6800 Pascal – An implementation of Pascal designed for Southwest Technical Products Corporation (SwTPC) compatible systems running FLEX or mini-FLEX.
    • Technical Forum – A BASIC program to simulate “rubber stamping” a simple message using an impact printer.
    • Desktop Wonder: The Periodic Chart at Your Figertips – A periodic table program for the TI-59 programmable calculator.
    • What’s New? – A Z80 based disk operating system written in PL/M, the A2-3D1 animation package for the Apple II, Pascal-80 for 8080/8085 based computers, EFAMOS multitasking OS for 8080, 8085, and Z80 based systems, a Space Shuttle landing simulator, and more.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (March 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Compute! – Issue Number 94 – March 1988

    Compute! covered various home computers over the years. It was a little less technical than Byte (for example) at least in terms of hardware coverage. However, it was a great magazine and had numerous spin-off, the most successful of which was Gazette for the Commodore 64/128. The March 1988 issue of Compute! includes:

    Features

    • Computers: The Powerful, New Music Machines – A short history of computers in music and the technology currently available.
    • Buyer’s Guide to Tax Preparation Software – An overview of then curren tax software including DivorceTax (DOS), Estate Tax Planner (DOS), Everything You Need To Do Your Taxes With Lotus 1-2-3 (DOS), EZTax-Prep 1040 (Apple II, DOS, Macintosh), EZTax-Plan Personal Edition (DOS), Future-Tax (Commodore 64, Plus/4), J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax 1988 (DOS), MacInTax (Macintosh), PC/TaxCut (DOS), Quick Returns! (Apple II, Macintosh, DOS), Swiftax (Commodore 64/128), Taxaid (Commodore 64, Plus/4), TaxView Planner (DOS), Tax Advantage (Apple II, DOS), The Tax Advantage (DOS, Apple II, Atari, Atari ST, Commodore 64/128), Tax Command Planner (Commodore 64/128, Apple II, DOS), Tax Command Professional (Commodore 64/128, Apple II, DOS), and many more.
    • Casino Blackjack – A type-in blackjack game for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, DOS, Apple II, and Amiga.
    • Centerstage: AMIGA! – The World of Commodore Show – While there was plenty of Commodore 64/128 stuff on display and a new XT compatible PC 10-III model from Commodore, the Amiga was the focus at the 1987 World of Commodore show.
    • The Amiga Virus – Apparently, the World of Commodore show was ground zero for the spread of a virus for the Amiga.

    Reviews

    • Top Fuel Eliminator – A drag racing game from Activision for the Commodore 64 and Apple II.
    • Thexder – An arcade style game reviewed here for the Apple IIgs and also available for DOS.
    • ProDrive for the Amiga – A third part 3.5″ disk drive for the Amiga that is compatible with the Amiga 1010 drive.
    • Dark Castle – Dark Castle is a horror themed action game that has beautiful graphics but a very high degree of difficulty. The Amiga version is reviewed here but it was also available for DOS, the Macintosh, Atari ST, and Commodore 64.
    • Postcards – Software from Activision for creating postcards for the Apple II (reviewed here), Macintosh, Commodore 64, and DOS.
    • Empire – This strategy game would become a classic. Reviewed here for the Atari ST with DOS, Apple II and Amiga versions available.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – A look at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Letters from readers about copying Commodore 64 BASIC from ROM to RAM, the Atari BASIC NEW command, using Commodore 1541 and 1571 disk drives together, and more.
    • Microscope – IBM celebrates shipping one-millionth IBM PS/2, the Amiga reaches an installed base of 500,000 meanwhile the Commodore 64 is still popular with an installed base of over 10 million, Motorola announces 68030, Apple announces that 200,000 Apple IIgs systems have been sold, and more.
    • Computers and Society: Computers, Writing, and AI – Some of the limitations of spell checkers in word processors.
    • The Beginner’s Page: Making Music with BASIC – A tutorial for creating music in BASIC with the Amiga, Atari, Atari ST, Commodore 128, and IBM PC.
    • IBM Personal Computing: Computer Stew – A look at God Speed Bible software and John Sculley’s book, Odyssey, about his history at Pepsi and Apple.
    • The World Inside the Computer: Computers of the Future – Readers describe what they think computers of the future will be like.
    • Telecomputing Today: The Trojan Wars – This article talks about the risk of Trojans when downloading software. It credits a BASIC statement on Commodore PET computers that could actually damage hardware as being the first. It also talks about a new variant called viruses.
    • AmigaView: Third-Party Hardware and Software – A look a third party hardware for the Amiga including accelerators, SCSI controllers, memory expansion, and more as well as new software such as Superbase Professional, DeluxeWrite, Publisher 1000, and more.
    • ST Outlook: Snooping Into Your Disks – A type-in program that will let you examine the content of disks on the Atari ST.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – More on Structure – A follow-up article on structured programming and structured data types on the Atari 8-bit.

    The Journal

    • Cursor Plus – A type-in program for Atari 8-bit computers that expands the capabilities of the editor.
    • Math Graphics for the IBM PC – Two type-in programs for creating graphical displays based on math.
    • The Elementary Amiga, Part 4 – The fourth part in a series on using the Amiga. This part includes information about directories, logical drives, command files, and more.
    • Color Map – A type-in drawing program for the Commodore 64.
    • Math Draw for Amiga – A type-in menu driven graphics program for the Amiga.
    • Catalog to Text File – A type-in program for the Apple II that outputs a disk directory to a text file.

    …and more!


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