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  • VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (December 1988)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: VideoGames & Computer Entertainment – December 1988

    While VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was never as popular as EGM or GamePro, it was my personal favorite video game magazine. The December 1988 issue was the first issue. I think it was the following year when I started buying issues on a regular basis. This issue includes:

    Video-Games Features

    • An Introduction to the Game Systems – A brief look at the three major systems that were available in 1988. These were the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, and Atari XEGS.
    • The 1989 VideoGames Buyer’s Guide – A look at over 150 games for Nintendo, Sega, and Atari game systems with ratings.
    • Barnyard Blaster – Review of this light-gun game for the Atari XE.
    • Contra – A review of this classic (and difficult) shooter from Konami for the NES.
    • Blaster Master – A strategy guide for this action game from Sunsoft for the NES.
    • Archon – Hints and tips for this strategy game for the Atari XEGS. I played this one on the Commodore 64.

    Computer Games Features

    • Football! – A history of electronic football simulations. Some of the games covered here include Touchdown Football (Commodore 64, DOS, Atari 7800), 4th and Inches, Football (Atari 2600), RealSports Football (Atari 2600), M Network Football (Atari 2600), 10-Yard Fight (NES), John Elway’s Quarterback (DOS), Super Bowl Sunday, Great Football (Sega Master System), Sports Pad Football (Sega Master System), World’s Greatest Football, Touchdown Football (Atari 7800), Star League Football, GFL Championship Football, John Madden Football (Apple II), On Field Football, TV Sports Football (Amiga), Computer Football, Monday Morning Quarterback, GFL Football (Apple II), and more.
    • An Interview With Brian Fargo – Creator of early games such as Labyrinth of Mortagon and Demon’s Forge and the founder of Interplay.
    • Computer Reviews – Reviews of Three Stooges (Amiga, Commodore 64, DOS), Blockbuster (Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS), Road Runner (Atari ST, Commodore 64), Superstar Ice Hockey (Apple II, Apple IIGS, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS), Tetris (Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, Macintosh II), Rommel: Battles for North Africa (Apple II, Commodore 64), Bubble Ghost (Amiga, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS), Stellar Crusade (Atari ST, DOS), and The Last Ninja (Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, DOS).

    Departments

    • Publisher’s Letter – An introduction to the premiere issue of this magazine.
    • News Bits – New Freedom Stick wireless joystick; Atari to release 45 new games including titles for the XEGS, Atari 7800, and Atari 2600; Japanese games coming to the U.S. from Koei including Romance of The Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition; Captain Blood coming from Mindscape; Pool of Radiance (one of my favorites!) coming for the Commodore 64 and other systems; Zork Zero coming from Infocom; Activision releasing Commando and Kung Fu Master for the Atari 2600; Activision to change name to Mediagenic (stupid decision), and much more.
    • Questions and Answers – The Game Doctor answers questions about where most games are designed, what happened to text adventures, 3D games on the Sega Master System, new computers with gaming potential, and more.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Computer Shopper (October 2000)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer Shopper – October 2000

    Computer Shopper was a phone book sized magazine that peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Though it was perhaps best known for being an excellent resource for ordering computer systems or parts, it also had plenty of great content in the form of articles and reviews. The October 2000 issue includes:

    Features

    • Light Makes Right – A look at five lightweight notebooks including the Compaq Armada M300 (Pentium III 600 MHz, 64MB RAM, ATI Rage LT Pro w/ 4MB, 12GB hard drive), Dell Latitude LS H400ST (400MHz Pentium III, NeoMagic MagicMedia256AV w/ 2.5MB, 6GB hard drive), HP OmniBook 900 (450MHz Pentium III, 64MB RAM, ATI Rage Mobility w/ 4MB, 6GB hard drive), IBM ThinkPad 570E 64U (500MHz Pentium III, 128MB Ram, NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV2 w/ 2.5MB, 12GB hard drive), Toshiba Portege 3440CT (500MHz Pentium III, 64MB RAM, S3 Savage IX w/ 8MB, 6GB hard drive).
    • Scanning for Savings – A look at five low-cost flatbed scanners including the Acer 640BU, HP ScanJet 3400C, Umax Astra 3400, MicroTek ScanMaker 3700, and Visioneer 6200 USB.
    • Picking the Perfect PC – PC recommendations for different types of buyers. Some systems covered here include the Dell Dimension XPS B1000r, IBM NetVista, and HP Pavilion 9790C.
    • Sign On Once, Surf Often – A look at single sign-on services designed to manage all your web logins. Services looked at here include Microsoft Passport, digitalme, and v-Go 2.0.
    • Dialing Without Dollars – An article on making cheap or even free phone calls via the Internet.
    • Home Home on the Web – A guide to searching for a new home via the Internet.
    • Best Buys – A guide to new products that are best buys in their respective categories. Products here include the Dell Dimension 4100, Compaq Armada M300, Creative Nomad II MG, Dell Inspiron 5000e, and more.

    News

    • Net Now – A look at Windows ME. I honestly don’t think I ever touched this OS.
    • B2B Buzz – A look at e-Commerce sales and the upcoming Holiday 2000 season.
    • Hot Gear – A first look at some of the latest tech gear including the I-Jam Win-Jam Digital Audio Player, Sony DCR-PC5 Handycam, Minds@Work Digital Wallet, Wild Planet Spy Detectors, and SportBrain Starter Kit.

    Web Buyer

    • Site Reviews for Online Shopping – Reviews of tons of online shopping sites including PC shopping sites, Internet service providers, financial service, software sites, online auctions, cameras, books, music, and more. Plus, a look at 20 Halloween sites.

    Business Buyer

    • Is Rent-a-LAN Right for You? – A look at subscription-based computing services for outsourcing acquisitions, maintenance, and support.
    • e-Services and Tools – A look at unified messaging services that let you retrieve e-mail, voice messages, and faxes from one place.
    • Building Your Business – Eight tips for designing a web site that will help your sales.
    • Linux for Business – A look at various Linux distributions for business use, including Caldera OpenLinux, Corel Linux, Red Hat Linux, SuSE Linux, TurboLinux, and others.

    Help & How To

    • Building a PC from Scratch – A guide to building your own PC. This tutorial used an Enlight EN-7237 midtower case with 300 watt power supply ($78.99), Abit VT6X4 Slot I board with 733 MHz Pentium III and fan ($449), 128MB 133MHz Corsair SDRAM module ($159.99), 3.5″ floppy drive ($12.99), 40 GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus ($280), Creative Labs PC-DVD 8x DVD-ROM drive ($146.99), and Hercules Guillemot 3D Prophet II GTS graphics card ($299.99).
    • The Hard Edge – Virgin Atlantic announces cell phone service from airplanes, a look at AMD’s new Thunderbird and Duron CPUs, and more.
    • Alfred Poor’s Computer Cures – Questions answered about mail merge, control panel issues, scan disk, Outlook mail purge, and more.
    • Buying Advisor – Finding an affordable web cam, software, and net connection for linking a language instructor in Honolulu with students in Tokyo.

    Opinions

    • John Blackford – Moore’s Law continues unabated and why it matters.
    • John Dvorak – A vision of the future of phone service.
    • Jim O’Brien – E-tailers may not be able to continue to use only price as a means of competing with brick and mortar stores.
    • Michael Slater – Wondering where all the tablet computers are. They wouldn’t really become mainstream until the iPad was introduced years later.

    Reviews

    • Desktops – Reviews of the Sony Vaio PCV-J100 (600MHz Celeron, 64MB 100 MHz SDRAM, 15GB hard drive, and more for $1128), Dell Dimension 4100 (800MHz Pentium III, 128MB 133MHz SDRAM, 20GB hard drive, nVidia GeForce2 GTS video card, and more for $1839), and CyberPower Athlon Special (800MHz AMD Athlon, 256MB 133MHz SDRAM, 34GB hard drive, ATI Rage Fury Pro graphics card, and more for $1849).
    • Hardware – Reviews of the Epson Stylus Color 670, FujiFilm FinePix 4700 Zoom, Maxtor DiamondMax 60, and Boston Acoustics BA4800.
    • Networks – Reviews of the Actiontec USB Internet Phone Wizard and Intel Anypoint Phoneline Home Network 10 MBPS USB.
    • Mobile – Reviews of the NEC Versa SXI (700 MHz Pentium III, 128MB SDRAM, 12GB hard drive, ATI Mobility-P graphic chip, and more for $3399, Dell Inspiron 5000e (750MHz Pentium III, 128MB SDRAM, 30GB hard drive, ATI Rage Mobility 128, and more for $3459), Acer Travelmate 524TXV (650MHz Pentium III, 64MB SDRAM, 12.1GB hard drive, ATI Rage Mobility-M1, and more for $2399), Kodak Palmpix Camera, Boxlight XD-9M projector, RIM 957 Wireless Handheld, Creative Noad II MG, IBuyPower Pocket Espresso PC, and Palm M100.
    • Software – Reviews of Extensis Portfolio 5.0, Astound Presentation 7.0, Adobe Livemotion, Peachtree Complete Accounting 8.0, Real Entertainment Center Plus, Generations Grande Suite 8.0, and Canon Officeready Buisness Plans.
    • Games – Reviews of Backyard Baseball 2001, Star Trek: Klingon Academy, Motocross Madness 2, and Diablo II.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Maximum PC (January 2006)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Maximum PC – January 2006

    Maximum PC was my favorite PC magazine. It had a pretty long life with the first issue being published in September 1998 and the last print issue coming in April 2023. Unlike some magazines, it maintained a fairly consistent quality. It limped on another couple of years as a digital only magazine but the last issue in that form was published last month. Sadly, Maximum PC is officially, completely dead. The January 2006 issue includes:

    Features

    • Versus – In this feature, Maximum PC determines the best AMD chipset (nVidia nForce4 SLI x16), best Pentium chipset (nVidia nForce 4 SLI x16), best midrange dual-core CPU (AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+), best high-end dual-core CPU (AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+), best high-end single-core CPU (Athlon 64 FX-57), best mobile CPU (Pentium M 740), best high-end videocard (nVidia GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB), best midrange videocard (Leadtek Winfast 7800 GT TDH Extreme), best budget videocard (AOpen Aeolus 6800 GT), best high-capacity hard drive (WC Caviar SE 16 400KB WD400KD), best recordable DVD media (Fujifilm), and best fast LCD (Samsung 940BF).
    • MP3 Challenge – A listening test with MP3s enconded with different encoders and bitrates.
    • DV Cam Roundup – A digital video camera buyers guide. Most video cameras at the time relied on miniDV tapes though some also used hard drives, 3-inch DVDs, and even flash media though capacity was limited. Cameras covered here include the Samsung SC-X105L Sports Cam, JVC Everio GZ-MG70U, Canon Optura 50, Hitachi DZ-GX20A, and Sony DCR-HC42 MiniDV Handycam.
    • $300 PC – This $300 computer includes an AMD Sempron 2800+ CPU, MSI RS480M-IL motherboard, 512MB of generic PC3200 memory, 80 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA hard drive, and Lite-On 16x double layer optical drive.

    Departments

    • Quick Start – A look at the top technologies of 2006. Some of these include dual-core GPUs, physics accelerators, new socket from AMD, DDR2 memory for AMD and DDR3 for Intel, among others. Also, Sony includes malware with every CD, Sanyo releases new rechargeable batteries, Firefox gains on Internet Explorer, Plextor releases 18x DVD burner, and more.
    • Head2Head – Comparing speakers with headphones. In this case, Sony’s MDR-DS8000 Digital Surround Headphone System is comapred with Logitech’s Z-5500 Digital speaker system. Spoiler, the speakers win.
    • WatchDog – Maximum PC’s consumer advocate investigates WinFixer (adware), WinAntiVirus Pro (sketchy antivirus software), EZInkjets.com (a company that took orders but seemingly never delivered), and more.
    • How To – A guide to installing Linux. This tutorial uses Ubuntu.
    • Ask the Doctor – Questions answered about burning a BartPE disc, a randomly restarting computer, a Dell XPS 600 and its use of proprietary parts, lock ups on the Sony Vaio VGNFS760 notebook, hard drive ticking sounds, and more.
    • R&D – A white paper on Virtual 3D Audio and an autopsy of an LCD display.
    • In the Lab – A look at high-end thermal paste performance and an evaluation of the new nForce 4 chipset.
    • In/Out – Letters from readers about Intel adopting AMD64 extensions, LaCie external drives, driver updates, camera testing, 64-bit Windows XP driver problems, the WD Raptor, and more.
    • Rig of the Month – A reader puts a custom build PC in his RX-8.

    Reviews

    • Pc Enclosure – A look at the Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 case.
    • Desktop PC – A review of the S1 Digital Media Center featuring a Pentium 4 @ 3.2 GHz, 1GB Geil DDR2-533 RAM, 320GB Western Digital hard drive, nVidia GeForce 6600 GT video card with 128MB, 350 watt power supply, and more for $2500.
    • External Water Cooler – A review of the Thermaltake Symphone External Water cooler which includes a cooling tower that sits outside of the PC case for a pretty steep $400. This is designed more for those with HTPC systems that have small cases.
    • Wirelss 5.1 Speakers -A review of Logitech Z-5450 Digital speakers. They had the convenience of being wireless but were also relatively noisy.
    • Mid-size Case – A review of the Silverstone Sugo SG-01 case.
    • PDA – A review of the Palm TX. Before iOS and Android took over the world with smartphones, your choice was a Palm or Windows Mobile based device without phone capabilities.
    • Streaming Boxes – A look at the Pinnacle ShowCenter 200 and Olive Musica Wireless Music System.
    • Mp3/Video Player – A reviews of the Apple 30GB iPod.
    • VGA Coolers – A review of the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencers.
    • Cordless Mouse – A review of the Logitech G7 Mouse.
    • Antivirus Apps – Reviews of McAfee VirusScan 2006 and Norton Antivirus 2006.

    Gaming

    • Age of Empires III – A review of this classic real-time strategy game from Microsoft.
    • Call of Duty 2 – A review of this classic first person shooter. Not really much of an improvement over the original but why mess with success?
    • F.E.A.R. – A horror themed first person shooter.

    …and more!


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged