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  • Personal Computing (September 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Personal Computing – September 1982

    Personal Computing was a long lived computer magazine published in the U.S. from the late 1970s until 1990 or so. Though by the end of its run it was covering mostly the PC, it covered various computer platforms in its earlier days. The September 1982 issue includes:

    Departments

    • Editorial – Computer literacy and getting more out of Personal Computing.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about electronic mail, choosing a word processor, buying a printer, the need for two disk drives, and more.
    • Answers – Questions answered about compatible home and office computers, microdisks (the then new 3.5″ disk format), portable computers, using electric typewriters as an interface.
    • Outlook – Purchasing software may qualify you for tax deductions; Club Med features computer workshop with Atari computers; universities use computers to help students with math; and more.
    • Interview – An interview with Jack Tramiel, chairman of Commodore Business Machines. He would later leave Commodore and move on to Atari.
    • Essay – Concern about the divide between the computer literate and computer illiterate.
    • Book Reviews – Reviews of Big Things From Little Computers: A Layperson’s Guide to Personal Computing, The Investor’s Computer Handbook, and Industrial Marketing and Sales Management in the Computer Age.
    • Games – An article on Bridge and how to outbid the enemy.

    • Hardware of the Month – A look at new hardware including several new computers. The first is the portable Hyperion which is priced in the $4500 range, is compatible with the IBM PC, and features an 8088 processor, 256K RAM, and one or two floppy drives. The second is the NEC Model 200 which features various floppy/hard drive combinations starting at $4500. Also included here is a new Winchester hard drive from ATASI, a high resolution color 13″ monitor, and more.
    • Software of the Month – New software including The Organizer (a personal information manager), Graphics Processing System, Kryptyk (encryption software), Oasis-16 (an operating system for the IBM PC), Easy Planner (spreadsheet), The Terminal Program from Hayes, and more.

    Features

    • Computing Literacy: Springboard to Success – Computer literacy is becoming important to up and coming executives.
    • Servicing Your System: Be Prepared – A proper service agreement can make the difference between a good system and a great system.
    • Squaring Off Over Computer Literacy – The best way to bring computer literacy to non-users.
    • Extend Your Reach with Telecommunications – Communicating with other computers with a modem. Something made practical only after Ma Bell lost their monopoly on telecommunications hardware used on their phone lines.
    • Big Four Accounting Software Roundup – A massive overview of the accounting software currently available in the categories of general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll.
    • Breaking Out of the Payroll Bind – A look at payroll software and how it reduces paperwork, bookkeepers and otherwise increases efficiency.
    • Deskmaster: The Soul of a Program – Designing software that encompasses the features that professionals want most: a memo writer, filing system, appointment calendar and desk calculator. Deskmaster will have all of these and be free to Personal Computing subscribers.
    • Home, Hearth and Computing – Kids with computers in the home spend more time with the computer and less time with TV.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • MacAddict (May 1998)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: MacAddict – Issue Number 21 – May 1998

    The best way to describe MacAddict would be to compare it to boot/Maximum PC for the PC. It was a magazine for enthusiasts. If I had been aware of it at the time, this magazine probably would have made me want to buy a Mac. Sadly, it transformed into MacLife at some point which was perhaps more polished but also boring and almost…antiseptic for lack of a better word. MacAddict was so much better. the May 1998 issue includes:

    Highlights

    • Become a Mac Handyman – A guide to troubleshooting, repairing and upgrading your Mac. Includes tips on solving software issues, installing PCI, PDS and NUBUS cards, installing RAM, and much more.
    • AppleScript Boot Camp – A tutorial for AppleScript, the scripting language of MacOS. Includes steps for controlling Navigator, automatically creating aliases, file renaming, and more.
    • This Old Mac – I especially loved this series on upgrading and using older Macs. This month the PowerBook 100 is covered which was six years old at the time. The PowerBook 100 is a 16-MHz 68000 based machine. At the time, it could still be made useful for e-mail, word processing and other basic tasks. The RAM could be upgraded to 8MB but RAM upgrades were expensive and 4MB could be enough for those basic tasks. Alternatively, upgrading from 4MB to 6MB was a cheaper alternative then going to 8MB. The hard drive could also be upgraded from the standard 20MB or 40MB drive up to at least 1GB. External drives were also an option. If only modern MacBooks were as upgradeable. Other potential upgrade options include a modem (up to 9600bps external or 2400bps internal), upgraded System Software (up to 7.5.5), and there was plenty of Internet software available including MacPPP, MacTCP, NCSA Mosaic 1.0.3, MacWeb, Eudora, LeeMail, Pegasus, NewWatcher, Fetch, Anarchie, AOL 2.1, and more.

    How To

    • Switch to HFS+ – HFS+ was a new file system that came with MacOS 8.1. This tutorial guides you through upgrading from MacOS 8 and HFS to MacOS 8.1 and HFS+.
    • Know It All about Finder Views – A guide to configuring how Finder displays files and file info.
    • Avoid Stupid Webmaster Mistakes – Web 1.0 webmaster tips including tips about GIF interlacing, avoiding useless pages, correcting grammar and spelling, including alt image tags, linking back to the home page, and more.

    Every Month

    • Editor’s Note – Lamenting the end of the Newton MessagePad.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about the PowerMac 6100, Steve Jobs, and more.
    • Get Info – The latest Mac related news including new G3 vs. Pentium II benchmarks, better support from Iomega (including for Zip, Jaz and Ditto drives), IBM experiments with 1 GHz PowerPC chip, and more.
    • Cravings – A look at some of the latest tech gear, including the Kodak DCS 520 Digital Camera ($14,995 for 1728×1168 resolution), DirectCD (using CDs like floppies), DaynaStar FastHub 8 (an 8-port 100 Megabit hub for $269), Action Files (file manager/finder), and Lapdog (a lapdesk for your PowerBook).
    • Reviews
      • Dreamweaver 1.0 – a WYSIWYG HTML editor
      • Microsoft Internet Explorer
      • Elastic Reality 3.1 – morphing/warping graphics software)
      • Multi-Ad Creator 2 – a tool for creating small documents such as ads and brochures
      • Claris Home Page – an HTML editor

      • Mac Picasso with 3D Overdrive – a 2D video card with an optional 3D module based on the 3Dfx chipset…for $550
      • VideoShop 4.0/3D – A non-linear video editing app
      • PlusMaker 1.0.1 and PlusMaximizer 1.0 – Tools for converting to HFS+ without erasing data and for using smaller 0.5K block sizes
      • Racing Days R – Racing game from Feral Entertainment
      • Shattered Steel – A mech game from Logicware
      • …and more!
    • PowerPlay – Games coverange including a preview of Intellivision Lives!, a look at Quake conversions X-Men: the Ravages of Apocalypse and Malice, Diablo and Starcraft updates, and more.
    • Ask Us – Questions answered about RAIDs, reordering columns in Finder, Photoshop troubleshooting, ink for the Color StyleWriter 1500, invisible files, copying large files to multiple floppies, and more.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana Macintosh 📎and tagged

  • Super Play (August 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Super Play – Issue Number 10 – August 1993

    Super Play was a U.K published magazine dedicated to the Super Nintendo. I know we had at least once such magazine in the U.S. but it really only had a handful of pages and was published bi-monthly. Nintendo Power was probably a better option though it would have covered the NES and Game Boy to depending on what time period we are talking about. Issue number 10 of Super Play from August 1993 (100 pages!) includes the following:

    Features

    • Different Strokes – A look at how advertisements and cover art for the same games differ between Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.
    • Troubleshooter – How to easily and cheaply fix a Super NES that has been damaged by adaptor (mis)use.
    • CES! – A look at the Summer CES in Chicago on June 3-6, 1993. Super Nintendo highlights included Arcus Odyssey, Beast Ball, a new version of the NES, Brawl Brothers, Beauty and the Beast, Dream Probe, Super Battletank 2, Crash Dummies, Caribbean Kawasaki Challenge, Ultima: The False Prophet, Rabbit Rampage, T2, Monday Night Football, Legend, Yoshi’s Cookie, Aladdin, Rock ‘n’ Roll Racing, River Raid, Super Mario All-Stars, Street Fighter II Turbo, Side Pocket, Pac-Man 2, Jurassic Park, Super Brawl, Utopia, Last Action Hero, Family Feud, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Inspector Gadget, and tons more.

    Import Reviews

    • American Gladiators – A game based on the T.V. show of the same name involving the same challenges.
    • Bubsy – A great side-scrolling platform game.
    • Doraemon – A sort of combination action/RPG featuring a cat.
    • Dracula Kid – A Zelda-like RPG featuring Dracula as a kid.
    • Final Fight 2 – Featuring a two-player mode and upgraded graphics for the SNES.
    • GP-1 – A motorcycle racing game with average reviews.
    • International Tennis Tour – An Ok tennis game.
    • Run Saber – Basically a wannabe Strider but Strider is much better.
    • Shadowrun – A SNES version of the classic tabletop cyberpunk themed RPG. It’s set in 2050…we are already more than halfway there from when this game was released.
    • Septentrion – An action adventure game set on a sinking ship.
    • Super Black Bass – A pretty good fishing game if you like fishing games.
    • Super Turrican – Thirteen levels of sci-fi platform action.

    Super Player’s Guide

    • Legend of the Mystical Ninja – A complete strategy guide for this action RPG that received no official UK release.

    UK Reviews

    • Striker – One of many soccer games released in the U.K. though this one seems to be a pretty good one.
    • WWF Royal Rumble – A pretty good wrestling game featuring the WWF.

    Regulars

    • Super Express – The latest Super NES related news including the latest on the Super NES CD, info on upcoming U.K. releases, Mega Man X, some new SNES controllers and other peripherals, a look at recent fantasy games including Ogre Battle and Neugier, more on the Summer CES in Chicago, and much more.
    • Gamefreak – Questions answered about Pop ‘n Twinbee, Street Fighter II Turbo, PAL vs. NTSC, upcoming RPGs, Actraiser vs. Soul Blazer, Sensible Soccer, and much more.
    • Playback – Feedback from readers about downbeat reviews, extra speed in U.K. games, upgrading Street Fighter II, violence in games, and more.
    • What Cart? – A brief summary of reviews of older games.
    • Next Month – Coming in the next issue, tons of game designer interviews, Final Fight 2 and Dragon Ball Z coverage, a look at the Japanese games industry, reviews of Troddlers, First Samurai, Super Back to the Future 2, World Soccer, and more.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games Super Nintendo (SNES) 📎and tagged