Byte is one of the oldest computer magazines. In 1979 it had already been around for several years and the original IBM PC was still a few years away. Yet there were still plenty of 'small systems' to cover. The August 1979 issue includes:
Byte: The Small Systems Journal (August 1979)
At one time there were a variety of software products on the market for teaching you how to type. I’m not sure what that market is like today but in 1984 The Wizard of Id’s WizType by Sierra was one of the better such products out there. It was available for many of the computers available at the type including the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit line, DOS and Apple II.
Like most software of its type, WizType offered various options including practice, a game and testing. The most interesting in the options in WizType were probably the game, own lesson, and paragraphs.
The game, along with the theme for all the other sections, was based on The Wizard of Id comic strip. In the game, typing accurately and quickly enough caused the Wizard to zap the spirit from the well. Too slow or inaccurate and the spirit eventually turns into a dragon and breathes fire on the wizard.
The ‘Own Lesson’ option allowed you to enter words or letter combinations for you to practice. This was useful if you had difficulty with something in particular or were just tired of the provided content.
Paragraphs provided paragraphs out of various literary works (Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities for example) for you to practice on. It also allowed you to enter and store your own paragraphs for practice. This feature is what really gave WizType longevity.
All of the photos in this set were taken in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were all likely taken in the Lansing, Michigan area.
The first photo was processed in January 1969. These kids appear to be working on making Christmas decorations so this was probably taken in December 1968.
Vintage Photos - Lot 6 (437-440)
The Pentium 4 wasn't the greatest CPU for a laptop. It used a lot of power which isn't great for either portability or battery life. Nevertheless, there was a brief period of time where the Pentium 4 was the only choice if you wanted a high performance laptop. This meant you were out of luck if you wanted something thin and light but not so bad if you were looking for a desktop replacement.
