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Friday, October 25, 2024

Computer Shopper (November 1990)

Computer Shopper (November 1990)

This issue of Computer shopper weighs in at nearly 900 pages. How many people have even seen a magazine with 900 pages? For a while, Computer Shopper was regularly publishing these telephone book sized issues. While there were tons of ads, there was tons of great content too. It's amazing how consolidated the computer market has become since the heyday of Computer Shopper. The November 1990 issue includes:

Features

  • 80386SX Systems: Limo or Lemon - The difference between the 386 (or 386DX as it would become) and the 386SX was that the DX was fully 32-bit while the SX was 32-bit internally and 16-bit externally. This meant that theoretically that the DX could access more memory (up to 4GB vs. 16MB for the SX) and that memory access was much faster. The memory limit difference made little difference as few people ever put as much as even 16MB in a 386. The memory access speed was a much bigger deal. Clock for clock, the 386 DX was about 33% faster than a 286. The 386 SX was actually slightly slower at the same clock speed than a 286. 386SX systems were cheaper though and this article compares four systems including the CompuAdd 320s, Swan 386SX, Sunnytech STI 386SX-16, and MicroLab 386/168. All systems came with 40 MB hard drive and memory ranging from 1 MB to 4 MB. Prices ranged from about about $1700 to about $2900.

  • Exploding the Myth of the Mail-Order Market - There was a time when the mail order market for computers was a risky endeavor. However, even by 1990, there were many reliable vendors.

  • Mail-Order Buying: All About Delays - One person's experience with endless delays when purchasing a variety of products via mail order.

  • Tightrope Walking - Concerns with buying a computer from little-known manufacturers.

Buyer's Guide

  • 24-Pin Dot Matrix Printers: Still Kicking After All These Years - For a long time, dot-matrix printers were the only affordable printer options for the average person. Eventually ink jet would come along and replace them but it took a while. In the dot-matrix world, there were 9-pin and 24-pin printers with 24-bin being the better quality (and more expensive) option.

  • 24-Pin Printers: Technology Overview - A look at how 24-pin dot matrix printers work, or really dot matrix printers in general.

  • Comparison Charts - A comparison of 50 different 24-pin dot matrix printers. Prices range from $449 to $3595.

Software

  • State of the Apps: Presentation Graphics - An overview of presentation software including Applause II from Ashton-Tate (DOS), Lotus' Freelance Plus (DOS), PowerPoint 2.01 from Microsoft (Macintosh), and Aldus Persuasion (Macintosh).

  • Games - Reviews of Ishido: The Way of Stones (DOS, Amiga, Macintosh), Hoyle's Book of Games II: Solitaire (DOS, Amiga), Blue Angels Formation Flight Simulation (DOS, Amiga, Commodore 64), and Railroad Tycoon (DOS).

  • New Stuff - A look at some new products including the ATFAX 9600 ($249 9600bps fax/modem board), Pocket Modem (2400bps modem), Envision It (a $399 tracing, shape recognition and raster-to-vector conversion program for DOS), RapidTax (tax software for DOS), and more.


Table of Contents from the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper

IBM

  • Charles Bermant - Commentary on how the current age would be the most chronicled in history due to the personal computer.

  • IBM News - Gilbert Hyatt to be awarded to patent on the microprocessor; Intex updates products for new version of Lotus 1-2-3; QuarkXPress 3.0 shipping for $795; and more.

  • Northgate OmniKey Ultra - A PC, XT, AT, and PS/2 compatible keyboard for $149.

  • Spear 80386SX: A Well-To-Do Commoner - A customized 16 MHz 386SX based machine for $3390.

  • Home on the Range with Cote Computers 386/20 - A 20MHz 386DX based system with 4MB of RAM, 64K cache, 200 watt power supply, 40MB Quantum IDE hard drive, ATI Wonder Super VGA with 512K, and more for $3077.

  • Micro Express Regal 386LX Lunchbox: Raison D'etre? - A portable 16 MHz 386SX based machine with a 40MB Conner IDE hard drive, Teac 3.5-inch 1.44MB floppy drive, 1MB RAM, and a super EGA 640x400 gas plasma screen for $2599.

  • Canon's LBP-8 Mark III Laser Printer: A New Standard Emerges - The latest laser printer from Canon for $2995.

  • What Can You Get for $5,000 - For $4897 from CompuAdd you get a 25 MHz 386 based computer with 2MB RAM, 1.2MB 2.5-inch disk drive, 1.44MB 3.5-inch disk drive, and a 150Mb ESDI hard drive among other things.

  • IBM's LaserPrinter E: Turning New Ground - A $1495 laser printer from IBM that can be upgraded to support postscript ($499 with 17 fonts, $899 with 39 fonts) and faster speeds ($1099 to go to 10-ppm from 5-ppm), and more.

  • Ampro's Little Board/386: The World's Smallest Computer - A 20-MHz 386 based machine that is only 5.75x8 inches for $1695. It also is expandable via mini-modules to add things like modems, networking, etc.

  • Big League Teleprompting on Your IBM PC with Econo-Prompt - $40 teleprompting software for DOS. Included in the article is a design for a teleprompting box you can build yourself.

  • QEdit Text Editors: Small Size, High Quality - A look at two versions of this simple text editor. QEdit Advanced 2.1 and QEdit TSR 1.1.

  • PopDrop Plus: RAM-Cram Manager - A TSR manager that lets you load and unload TSRs from active memory as you need them.

  • Off-Track? The PC-Trac Trackball - A review of this somewhat flawed trackball controller for PCs. I know a guy where I work that still prefers to use a trackball to a mouse.


Table of Contents from the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper (continued)

Macintosh

  • Steven Bobker - The dearth of serial ports on the Mac and ways to add more.

  • Mac News - New Macs reach retail shelves including the Macintosh Classic, Mac IIsi, and Mac LC; Northgate exists Mac keyboard market; dBASE IV 1.1 released; and more.

  • MathCAD And Theorist: Two Math Problem-Solvers - A look at two math software packages for the Mac.

  • atOnce! for the Macintosh - Accounting software designed for small businesses.

  • Abaton 300/GS: Almost the Supreme Scanner - A monochrome flatbed scanner for $1595.

  • MacRIP and Freedom of Press: PostScript Without the Price Tag - Freedom of Press offers 35 fonts for PostScript printing on more than 50 different printers. MacRIP is similar but comes with fewer fonts (17) and more limitations (like lack of color printing for most fonts).

  • Rodime Cobra Hard Drives: Take a Bite Out of Your Storage Requirements - The Cobra series of drives is available in a variety of capacities including 45, 70, 100, 210, 330, and 650MB. The 100MB external model is looked at here ($1949).

Unix

  • Saul Lubkin - A look at the kinds of changes that had to be made to port Norton Utilities to Unix.

  • Unix News - Report titled "Technical Guide to Unix Engineering Workstations" released which compares 119 workstations; Sun positions SPARCstation as direct competitor to high end PCs; and more.

Amiga

  • Peggy Herrington - A look at the new Amiga CDTV.

  • Amiga News - Delays with NewTek's video Toaster for the Amiga 2000/2500 and more.

  • The Art Department: Amiga Graphics Go Pro - A image-conversion and processing utility for the Amiga.

Misc.

  • Feedback Forum - Letters from readers about IBM vs. clones, discontinuation of Apple II coverage, the PC3 portable computer, and more.

  • Ask Dr. John - Questions answered about upgrading from the Epson FX-80 to an HP LaserJet, getting two computers to communicate via LapLink, printing special characters, and more.

  • Coming Events - A list of upcoming computer shows/fairs. There are 17 listed here for November and early December. i don't think these sorts of things even exist anymore.


Back cover of the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper
Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/10/25/computer-shopper-november-1990/

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Info (October 1991)

Info (October 1991)

At this point, the name of the magazine was .info for Amiga Users though it went through slightly different variations over the years. It used to cover the Commodore 64 but was Amiga only by this time. One of the unique aspects of this magazine was that it was produced using only Commodore equipment. The October 1991 issue includes:

ProVisions

  • Video - A guide to setting up an Amiga based video studio. Includes coverage of encoders, genlocks, monitors, digitizing and scanning, video tape editing controllers, single-frame controllers, and more.

  • Graphics - A look at a HAM mode paint program called Spectracolor. This was basically a new version of Photon Paint.

  • MultiMedia - A look at some software available for the CDTV including World Vista, Timeline of Science and Innovation, and Illustrated Works of Shakespeare.

.info technical support

  • UNIX: Is It For You? - The first in a two part series on UNIX for the Amiga.

  • ARexx and the Happy Haikuer - Using ARexx to generate Haikus on the Amiga.

  • Memory Alignment and BPTRS - Machine language math programming on the Amiga and all about the special pointers (BPTR and BSTR) that AmigaDOS uses.


Table of Contents from the October 1991 issue of Info

Columns

  • Public Domain - Several public domain collections are covered here including Cranware #161 (includes StarChart), Chiron Astronomical Pak (a five disk package including various astronomical programs), Barbara's Choice #9257 (Star Trek sounds and more), MGH #198 (Madelbrot designs and more), and MGHSoft Music Demos (a collection of more than 100 demo disks).

  • Hardware - This month is focused on Amiga 500 expansion. Covered products include Xetec's FastTrak system (a SCSI adapter with up to 8 MB of expansion RAM), GVP's A500-HD+ (includes memory expansion and hard drive options), and the DataFlyer 500 (SCSI hard drive adapter). All of these are tested here with a 52MB Quantum hard drive.

  • CyberPlay - A look at some of the latest Amiga games including Moonbase, Fast Eddie's Pool & Billiards, The Amazing Spiderman, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Team Yankee, MegaTraveller I: The Zhodani Conspiracy, King's Bounty, Brigade Commander, and King's Quest.

Departments

  • .info Monitor - An optimistic view of what the CDTV could become.

  • Mail - Mail from readers about emulation on the Amiga 500, choosing the Amiga over the Atari ST, and more.

  • New Products - A look at new Amiga related products including Activa Software's Real3D modelling/raytracing/animation package, Mail-O-Dex Professional address book software, the A2410 1024x1024 display card for the A3000UX, the KB-Talker PC/AT keyboard to Amiga adapter, Distant Suns 4.0 astronomical program, the SupraModem 9600 (9600bps for only $699.96!), Comeau C++, and more.


Back cover of the October 1991 issue of Info

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/10/23/info-october-1991/

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Computer Gaming World (December 1987)

Computer Gaming World (December 1987)

Computer Gaming World was really the best computer gaming magazine available for most of its life. In its earlier days it covered multiple platforms but eventually became a PC only magazine. The December 1987 issue includes:

Features

  • Plundered Hearts - A run-through of Plundered Hearts, an adventure game from Infocom which is sort of a spoof on pirate romance.

  • The Electronic Gridiron - A survey of the various computerized football games available at the time. Games covered here include 4th & Inches, GFL Championship Football, Gridiron, Football, Head Coach, Mac Pro Football, Super Bowl Sunday, 3-in-1 Football, Instant Replay, Computer Quarterback, and NFL Challenge.

  • 1987 CGW Game of the Year Awards - The 1987 Computer Gaming World Game of the Year awards were presented at DragonCon where there was also discussion of the future of computer gaming and a gaming tournament. Award winners include The Bard's Tale II (Electronic Arts), Starflight (Electronic Arts), Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Infocom), Trinity (Infocom), Might and Magic (New World Computing), Hardball (Accolade), Marble Madness (Electronic Arts), Earl Weaver Baseball (Electronic Arts), Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon (Cinemaware), Gunship (Microprose), Defender of the Crown (Cinemaware), Under Fire! (Avalon Hill), Balance of Power (Mindscape), BattleCruiser (SSI), Gettysburg (SSI), Battlefront (SSG), and the overall winner, Ultima IV (Origin).

  • Project: Stealth Fighter - A review of this combat flight simulator for the Commodore 64/128.

  • Beyond Zork - Review of this classic adventure game from Infocom for a variety of systems. This was one of the last games in the long running Zork series of interactive fiction games.


Table of Contents from the December 1987 issue of Computer Gaming World

Departments

  • Editorial - An overview of recent changes to the magazine including both content and layout changes as CGW moved to an IBM AT and desktop publishing.

  • Taking A Peek - Previews of new and upcoming games including Thunderchopper (Apple II, Commodore 64), Wings of Fury (Apple II), California Dreams (Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga), Vegas Gambler (Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, Apple IIgs, DOS), Shirley Muldowney's Top Fuel Challenge (Commodore 64), Dark Lord (Apple II, Commodore 64), Force 7 (Commodore 64), Tomahawk (Atari, Commodore 64), Street Sports Basketball (Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS), Heartland (Commodore 64), Silicon Dreams (Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS), Solar Star (Atari), Plutos (Amiga), Terrorpods (Amiga, Atari ST), 3D Helicopter Simulator (Dos), Thexder (DOS), Connect (DOS), and Halls of Montezuma (Apple II, Commodore 64).


Back cover of the December 1987 issue of Computer Gaming World

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/10/19/computer-gaming-world-december-1987/

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

PC World (September 1997)

PC World (September 1997)

As can be seen by the page count at nearly 400 pages, the late 1990s were probably near the height of popularity for PC World. This is probably true of most computer related magazines (PC ones anyway). The September 1997 issue of PC World includes:

Cover Story

  • Windows 98: A Convenience You Can Live With...Or Without - A first look at Windows 98. At the time, it wasn't seen as a major upgrade over Windows 95.

Features

  • Inside Office 97 - Tips for the new Office 97 including how to mix and matchi Office 97 and Office 95 files, removing unneeded components, and much more.

  • Bigger Is Better - At the time, you basically had a choice between 15-inch, 17-inch and 21-inch CRT monitors. 15-inch monitors were for bargain hunters while 21-inch monitors were extremely expensive. 17-inch was the sweet spot and this round-up includes a variety of 17-inch monitors including the IBM P70, Liyama VisonMaster Pro 17, Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 87TXM, ViewSonic PT775, Samsung SyncMaster 700b, Princeton Graphics Systems E075, Dell UltraScan 1000HS, Compaq V70, Hansol Multitech 17PX and Sony CPD-220VS. Prices ranged from $638 to $899.

  • What a Pain! The First Six Months of Owning a PC - An article that follows the adventures (and misadventures) of 25 new PC buyers.


Table of Contents from the September 1997 issue of PC World

Special Report

  • Servers With Room To Grow - A look at low cost workgroup servers. At the top of the list is the Digital Prioris MX 6200 SMP. It includes a Pentium Pro-200 (expandable to dual processors), up to 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage with up to 36 GB (4 x 9 GB) for $5300. Others looked at here include the Compaq ProLiant 800, HP NetServer LD Pro 6/180, HP NetServer LH Pro 6/200, and HP NetServer E 40 6/200.

  • Eight Ways to Work Across The Web - A look at various software that helps you to collaborate with others over the web.

Top of the News

  • 56-kbps Illusions: High Speed Access Not as Advertised - At this point in time, there were two competing 56K modem standards, one from U.S. Robotics and one from Rockwell/Lucent, and not all ISPs supported both...or either.

  • The NetPC Arrives: Back to the Future for User Control - The NetPC concept was for typically lower end PCs in a small form factor with limited upgrade potential and sometimes missing floppy and optical drives or missing local storage altogether...but were easier for businesses to manage.
  • USB Gives You a Rough Ride - The early days of USB on Windows 95 was not a great experience. Hot swapping frequently caused problems as did driver support.


Table of Contents from the September 1997 issue of PC World (continued)

New Products

  • Digital 6166K AMD K6 system, USA Flex 6x86MX-PR200 Cyrix 6x86MX system - A look at two machines with non-Intel Pentium MMX class processors. While these systems tended to be cheaper than their Pentium counterparts and even sometimes faster for certain tasks, they tended to be slower (sometimes much slower) for FPU intensive tasks including multimedia and games.

  • CSA-6700 USB add-in card - A $59 add-in card that provides your system with two USB ports.

  • Gateway 2000 G6-266XL PC - Featuring a Pentium II-266 CPU, 64MB of RAM, 9 GB SCSI hard drive, 21-inch monitor, 64-bit 3-D graphics card, and a 56K modem for $5128 this was a very high end but expensive PC. A couple of months later I would get a Gateway machine with a 300 MHz Pentium II and 32 GB of RAM for less than $3000.

  • Toshiba PDR-2 digital camera - A 640x480 digital camera designed to work with a PC Card slot for $499.

  • Reunion online BBS/chat rooms - Software that allows you to host chats and browsable bulletin boards on your PC.

Top 100

  • Power Desktops - At the top of the list this month is the Dell Dimension XPS H266. My favorite on the list is in 3rd place, the Gateway 2000 G6-233. It features a Pentium II 233 MHz processor, 3.2 GB hard drive, 64 MB RAM, STB Virge 4MB 3D PCI video card, 16x CD-ROM drive and more for $2899. I would own a slightly later revision with a 333 MHz CPU.

  • Budget Desktops - At the top of this list is the Dell Dimension XPS M166s featuring a Pentium 166MMX processor, 32 MB RAM, Matrox Millennium II video card and 12x CD-ROM drive for $2199.

  • Notebooks - At the top of the power list is the WinBook FX featuring a Pentium 166MMX CPU for $3999. At the top of the budget list is the Compaq Armada 15200M featuring a Pentium 133 CPU for $2199.

  • 17-inch Monitors - The top monitor this month is the liyama VisionMaster Pro 17 for $698.


Table of Contents from the September 1997 issue of PC World (continued)

Here's How

  • Answer Line - How to reinstall Windows 95, upgrade telnet, and piggyback modems for faster speeds.

  • Windows Tips - Speed up Windows 95 load time, 'send to folder" functionality for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 safe mode, and more.

  • Internet Tips - Using web auction sites, protecting passwords and privacy, and more.

At Home

  • Home Products - A look at the Panasonic EggCam, Corel Family Tree Suite genealogy software, and more.

  • Top 5 Home PCs - At the top of this list is the Dell Dimension XPS M233s featuring a Pentium MMX-233, 32MB of SDRAM, and more for $2379.

Departments

  • Up Front - Advice on whether or not to upgrade to Windows 98.

  • Letters - Letters from readers on 56K modems, AOL, the PC98 initiative, Adobe Illustrator, and more.


Back cover of the September 1997 issue of PC World

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/10/15/pc-world-september-1997/

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Commodore Microcomputers (November/December 1984)

Commodore Microcomputers (November/December 1984)

Commodore had a number of official publications over the years. Well, really there were two, and then one, and they went through a couple of different name changes. In 1984, Commodore Microcomputers was covering at least the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 (which had a very short commercial life). The November/December 1984 issue includes:

Departments

  • Industry News - A look at the 1984 Summer Consumer Electronics Show. This year was dominated by software and hardware for the Commodore 64.

Understanding Your Computer

  • Technical Tips - A list of disk and DOS wedge commands for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20. Plus a memory map for the Plus/4 and C-16.

  • Telecommunications - All about BBS systems including what they are, who runs them, what you can do on them, and much more.

Reviews

  • Music Construction Set - An excellent music composition program from Electronic Arts for the Commodore 64.

  • Studio 64 and Add Mus'in - This software package allows you to easily add sound and music to your own BASIC programs.


Table of Contents from the November/December 1984 issue of Commodore Microcomputers

Features

  • Physics of Sound: how Computers Make Music - A look into the technical details on how computers are able to generate music.

  • MIDI: A Marriage of Convenience - MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, was still relatively new at the time. It is the standard by which instruments can communicate with computers.

  • Ryo Kawasaki: Sonic Innovator - A musician who also developed software for the Commodore 64 including Kawasaki Synthesizer and Kawasaki Rhythm Rocker.

Using your Computer

  • Business - How the Commodore 64 became the star of a cable TV show called The Program Critic Computer Show.

  • Education: Special Supplement - A complete list of the educational software available for the Commodore 64 (no doubt out of date by the time it was printed), contact information for educational software vendors, and much more about the Commodore 64 in the education market.


Back cover of the November/December 1984 issue of Commodore Microcomputers

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/10/03/commodore-microcomputers-november-december-1984/