Byte was one of the earliest and most technical computer magazines available. In 1978, things were really starting to take off in the 'small computer' arena. The closest thing to a standard were the S100 bus based 8008 or Z80 machines running CP/M. However, the Commodore PET, TRS-80, and Apple II had all recently been introduced. The February 1978 issue of Byte includes:
Byte (February 1978)
All of the photos in this set were taken in the 1970s and were all probably taken in Michigan.
The first three photos were all processed in August 1979 and all appear to show the same lakeside vacation (or maybe just weekend getaway). There have been a bunch of photos from this same place in previous sets. The ones in this set show people sunbathing and playing in the water.
Vintage Photos - Lot 6 (385-388)
Maximum PC was my favorite PC magazine (and its incarnation as 'boot' before it). It covered PCs from an enthusiast point of view for those that liked to build or upgrade their own machines, gamers, those who liked to edit video, etc. The February 2002 issue includes:
Maximum PC (February 2002)
Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage was released in 1987 and reminds me a little bit of California Games. In part, this game seems to be an advertisement for the surfboard manufacturer of the same name. Where California Games has multiple events, this game has only two: skateboarding and surfing.
The skateboarding subgame is the better of the two. In it you maneuver through an obstacle course while performing as many tricks as you can. The surfing subgame works in much the same way. You are attempting to ride the wave all the way to shore while performing tricks and avoiding obstacles. It's kind of like the surfing part of California Games with a few more complexities.
Overall, the game isn't great and there isn't a enough to keep you interested for very long. The graphics are well done and the music is pretty good if limited but there just isn't enough game. This would be a good game to rent if such games were still rented.
You'll have to emulate or find an original NES cart for this one because there have been no re-releases I know about. However, there was a somewhat better sequel called Town & Country II: Thrilla's Surfari released for the NES several years later in 1992.
