Source: Info – Issue Number 1 – Fall 1983
Info covered various Commodore computers over the years but in 1983 the emphasis was on the Commodore 64. One unique feature of Info is that it was produced on Commodore computers. Presumably the Fall 1983 issue was produced on a Commodore 64 and the contents includes:
- Kludge Corner: Hot-Wiring the 1701 – Instructions for how to build a cable capable of outputting 80-columns on a Commodore 1701 monitor.
- Random Access: Loose Talk, Rumors & Other News – New products include the Executive 64 portable Commodore 64, Commodore 1520 Printer/Plotter, Turbo 1541 Speed-Up Kit, software for making the Commodore 64 work as a NAPLPS videotex terminal, a new computer from Videobook Corp. that will be compatible with the Commodore 64, Apple II and IBM PC for under $500. This last one sounds like an April Fool’s joke except it wasn’t April…
- Double-Take: The ‘VID’ – The “Video Improvement Device” was a device that sat between your Commodore’s RF output and the RF input of your TV to make the picture clearer.
- Review: Calc Result – Calc Results is a $150 spreadsheet program for the Commodore 64. This kind of software wasn’t cheap in the early days…now it can be had for free.
- Microview: Flexfile 2.1 – A database management program for the Commodore 64 for a mere $110.
- Review: Sorcerer’s Apprentice – A powerful but simple drawing program for the Commodore 64.
- Gallery: Good Games – A brief look at several games including Suspended (Infocom), Sword of Fargoal (Automated Simulations), Gridrunner (HES), Renaissance (UMI), Motor Mania (UMI), David’s Midnight Magic (Broderbund), Frogger (Sierra On-Line), Jumpman (Automated Simulations/Epyx), Pakacuda (CDC), Grand Master (UMI), Temple of Apshai (Automated Simulations/Epyx), and Repton (Sirius). Of these, I can remember playing Gridrunner, Jumpman, and Temple of Apshai the most.
- Product Roundup: 700 Products for the 64 – A list of most of the hardware and software available at the time. The Commodore 64 hadn’t been around long and already there was an impressive collection of stuff to buy for it.
- Vendor Roundup: Where to Get the 700 Products – A list of retail establishments at which to buy all of these products.
- In The Queue: What’s Coming – Coming in the next issue or so, a review of accounting software, the Micron Eye Camera, a Z80 expansion with 80-column word processor, Color-80 communications software, and a test of the Executive 64.
…and more!
