Friday, December 15, 2023

Compute!’s Gazette (November 1987)

There were a few big Commodore 64 related magazines in the U.S. Compute!'s Gazette was one of them. For whatever reason, it's not one that I saw at the stores I normally went to for such things (for me it was RUN and Commodore Magazine I saw frequently). However, Compute!'s Gazette was a long running magazine that was published well into the 1990s. The November 1987 issue would have been out near the height of the popularity of the Commodore 64. This issue includes:

Features

Computers at Work - Examples of how people use there Commodore 64s and Commodore 128s in the real world. Examples here include publishing periodicals, monitoring log production for log homes, farm management, running an antique business, managing a thoroughbred horse boarding and training farm, customer database for a water filtration equipment company, and more.

Reviews

Lt. Kernal Hard Disk Drives - Hard drives were expensive luxuries in for the Commodore 64/128. The Lt. Kernal was one of the more popular options and included an external 20 MB drive for $900. Hard drives on Commodore 8-bit computers seem to have been used mostly by BBS operators.

Jeremy Silman's Guide to Chess Openings and 50 Classic Chess Games - A computerized chess tutorial system focusing on opening moves plus an analysis of 50 chess games from the past.

Maniac Mansion - One of the best point and click adventure games for the Commodore 64...or any system.

Games

Litterbug - A type-in game in which you must collect trash and avoid giant insects.

The Gumball Rally - A type-in two-player game for the Commodore 128 in which you must make more money than your opponent by buying and selling gumballs.

_{Cover of the November 1987 issue of Compute!'s Gazette}

Education / Home Applications

Sketch Pad - A type-in drawing program for the Commodore 64.

Computing for Families: Holding a Hi-Tech Yard Sale - Tips for selling your old computer hardware and software at a yard sale.

Fraction Practice II - A type-in educational program that teaches fraction multiplication and division.

Programming

Subprograms for the 64 - A type-in program that helps you create "subprograms" in BASIC. Basically, these are standalone BASIC programs that act as subroutines.

SpeedScript 128 Date and Time Stamper - A type-in program in enhance the SpeedScript 128 word processor by adding date and time stamps to your documents.

Renumber - A type-in program that will renumber your BASIC programs.

Sprite Monitor - A type-in program that will search for sprites in memory and save them to disk.

Barricade Buster: Accessing the 128's 80-Column Screen - A type-in program designed to help you use the Commodore 128's 80-column screen in your own programs. Includes an example game.

Departments

The Editor's Notes - An overview of the current issue along with the introduction of two new assistant editors.

Gazette Feedback - Letters from readers about joysticks produced by Amiga, a calculated GOTO routine for the Commodore 128, collision detection of sprites, loading programs from within other programs, searching for prime numbers, keeping time in BASIC, and more.

Horizons: The Beast with Two Brains - A look at using CP/M on the Commodore 128 on its second CPU which is a Z80. The primary CPU used for Commodore compatible stuff on the Commodore 128 is the 8502 (a 6502/6510 derivative).

_{Cover of the November 1987 issue of Compute!'s Gazette}

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