• Tag Archives DOS

  • PC World (October 1985)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    PC World was one of the first major PC dedicated magazines. Unlike other early magazines like Byte and Compute!, it exclusively covered the PC. The October 1985 issue includes:

    Getting Started

    • The Cookie Cutter – Using spreadsheets for manufacturing flow and inventory.
    • PBX: The Network Switch – Using an existing PBX as an alternative to a LAN.

    Community

    • World Class PC – Readers pick the best PC products. Some of the products covered here include Borland’s SideKick, Lotus 1-2-3, the IBM PC AT, the Compaq Portable Computer, the Data General/One, the Iomega Bernoulli Box, the Hayes Smartmodem 1200, WordPerfect, Crosstalk, Turbo Pascal, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Norton Utilities, and much more.
    • Europe: Accent on Competition – A look at the state of personal computing in Europe.

    Review

    • Flipping Over Ability – A look at Xanaro’s Ability, an integrated suite of applications featuring a word processor, spreadsheet, database, telecommunications, and more.
    • Maximum Returns – A look at two tax preparation applications including Tax Machine and Micro-Tax.
    • A 1-2-3 Foursome – Template packages for Lotus 1-2-3 including Bottomline V (financial planning), Key II (database functions), CPA+ (accounting), and more.

    • On the Trail of The Datavue 25 – An evaluation of Quadram’s Datavue 25. This is a portable PC compatible computer featuring a 4.8 MHz 80C88 CPU, 360K disk drive, and 128K of RAM. It also had a non-backlit 25 line by 80 character LCD display and an IR keyboard.

    • Every Word a Key – A comparison of two file indexing and search applications, ZyIndex and 4-1-1.

    • Present WordPerfect – A review of the latest version of WordPerfect.

    State of the Art

    • MIDI: The Music Interface – An overview of the MIDI standard which was new at the time.

    Hands On

    • Lawyers Online – An online law library from Lexis and Westlaw.
    • Retrofit Your PC – A guide to upgrading your PC to an XT, AT, and beyond.

    Departments

    • David Bunnell – A tribute to Andrew Flugelman, founding editor of both PC World and Macworld among other things.
    • REMark – The “clean” computer industry in Silicon Valley turns out to be not so clean.
    • John C. Dvorak – Comparing the computer industry to the early automobile industry.
    • Letters – Readers write in about hard drive problems with the IBM PC AT, CD sound quality, Samna Word III, and more.
    • PC World View – IBM is predicted to develop its own line of microprocessors that may end PC compatibility.
    • The Help Screen – Questions answered about installing software on an external hard drive and looking at the previous directory with batch files,
    • From the Software Shelf – A first look at new software including Squire (a financial planning simulation), The Advertizer (software for creating a text only slide show), SAT Score Improvement System, and Real Estate Models for the Eighties.
    • From the Hardware Shelf – A first look at new hardware including PC Turbocharger (an 8086 replacement for 8088 based PCs), the Kaypro 16 (a luggable computer containing a 10MB hard drive, 256K RAM, and built-in 9-inch monochrome monitor for $3295), and PCTurbo-186 (an accelerator board featuring the 80186).
    • Password: Communicate – Various telecommunications related items including a look at a FidoNet BBS.

    …and more!


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  • Compute! (August 1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Compute! was one of the more popular home computer magazines of its time. It wasn’t as technical as something like Byte and it concentrated on the machines most potential users would be buying for their home. The August 1984 issue includes:

    Features

    • Software Power!: The Summer Consumer Electronics Show – While some new computers and other hardware were introduced at the Summer CES, there was also a lot of new software. Some machines made debuts privately like the Amiga Lorraine prototype, a new advanced 8-bit computer from Atari, and MSX based computers due to hit the U.S. Commodore also introduced the Plus/4 and C-16 (both of which went nowhere). Coleco was also pushing the Adam which was introduced 6 months earlier. There were also tons of games and other software for the Commodore 64, Atari, and Apple II among others.
    • The COMPUTE! Interview: Gerald K. O’Neill – The head of a company called Geostar Corporation which was a computer-based satellite positioning and communications company.

    Education and Recreation

    • Devastator – A type-in game in which you must destroy an alien invasion force before it destroys Earth. Originally written for the VIC-20 with versions included for the Commodore 64, Color Computer, TI-99/4A, Apple II, and PC.

    • Jackpot – A type-in slot machine simulator for the Ti-99/4A, Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari, and PC.

    Reviews

    • The Complete Personal Accountant For The Commodore 64 – A sophisticated accounting package for the Commodore 64 that includes ten separate programs.
    • Star League Baseball – An excellent baseball sim for its time for the Commodore 64.

    Columns and Departments

    • The Editor’s Notes – An editorial on the Summer Consumer Electronics Show.
    • Readers’ Feedback – Readers write in about Commodore 64 memory, Pascal for the Apple II, Atari checksum errors, using the stack, slowing screen output on the Commodore 64, and more.
    • Computers and Society: Computer-Assisted Explorations With Music – Teaching people to compose music with computers. This article concentrates on a software product called Musicland for the Apple II.
    • The Beginner’s Page: Printing And Asking – Printing special control codes (e.g. cursor movement) in BASIC by using CHR$ and ASCII values.
    • INSIGHT: Atari – Using the Atari 1050 disk drive enhanced density mode.
    • Programming The TI: The Singing Computer – Using the TI Speech Synthesizer to make the TI-99/4A sing.
    • Machine Language: Decimal Mode, Part 2 – Some of the bugs and pitfalls with using decimal mode in machine language on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
    • 64 Explorer – Printing characters to a bitmapped display by drawing it.
    • On The Road With Fred D’Ignazio: Are Computers A Home Appliance? – I don’t think computers have really ever been an “appliance”. More like a personal device similar to a mobile phone.
    • Questions Beginners Ask – Questions answered about plugging all computer peripherals into the same wall socket via a power strip and transporting a computer by plane.

    The Journal

    • ML Tracer – A type-in program for the Atari, Apple II, and Commodore computers that allows you to step through machine language programs.
    • 64 Searcher – A type-in program that allows you to search through you BASIC program for the string of your choice.
    • 64 Error Suppression – Avoiding error messages and system freezes when an error occurs on the Commodore 64.
    • Hi-Res VIC Drawing – A guide to drawing hi-res images on the VIC-20.
    • ML Applesort – A type-in machine language program for the Apple II that will sort an array of any length.
    • News & Products – The Drum-Key music interface board for the Apple II, an RS-232 modem adapter for Atari, Graphics Master for the Commodore 64, the Networker communications package for the Apple II, the Creative Electronics lighte pen for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20, and more.

    …and more!


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