Byte (July 1981)

in #retrocomputing • last month (edited)




Cover of the July 1981 issue of Byte


Byte was perhaps the most successful early computer magazine. In its early days, it covered what would have been considered small business computers, hobbyist systems, and the first home computers. This issue from July 1981 is from shortly before the original IBM PC was introduced and includes:

Features

  • The Santa Cruz Open: Othello Tournament for Computers - Twenty teams compete to create the best Othello program.

  • Build a Z8-Based Computer with BASIC, Part I - The first in a two part series on building a small computer based on the Zilog Z8 CPU and could be used for microcontroller applications.

  • Harvesting the Sun's Energy - A type-in program to calculate the proper placement and positioning of solar panels used for heating.
  • What Time Does the Sun Rise and Set? - A type-in program that will give you sunrise and sunset times for a given latitude, longitude, and date.

  • Multiprocessing with Motorola's MC6809E - The 6809 was a pretty advanced processor for its time. This was also the processor that the TRS-80 Color Computer used. The 'E' version had a few changes that made it possible to build multiprocessor systems with them. This article describes those changes and creating a multiprocessor system with it.

  • Computer Simulation of a Solar Energy System - Using a computer to simulate a solar-energy system using the heat transfer equation.




Table of Contents from the July 1981 issue of Byte


Reviews

  • Mountain Computer's MusicSystem - A synthesizer board and software for creating music for the Apple II for $545.

  • The Atari Assembler/Editor - A detailed look at Atari Assembler/Editor on cartridge from Atari for the Atari 400/800.

  • DOS Plus: Double-Density Operating System for the TRS-80 - A version of DOS for the TRS-80 Mdel I that supports both double and single density disks and is superior in other ways to the version of DOS supplied with Percom's Doubler.

Nucleus

  • Editorial: IBM's Personal Computer - A description and commentary on IBM's upcoming personal computer, or at least what was known at the time.

  • Letters - Letters from readers about bugs in BASIC interpreters, structured programming, self replicating programs, and more.

  • System Notes - Solving a problem with the OSI Challenger when the terminal width is less than 24 characters.

  • Programing Quickies - A hurricane tracking program, an energy measurement device and software for the Apple II, and an inflation calculator.

  • Ask BYTE - Questions answered about generating titles for VHS tapes on a TRS-80 Model I, EPROM programming, I/O expansion on the TRS-80 Model I, and more.




Back cover of the July 1981 issue of Byte


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     last month  

    I wonder if there was ever a solar laptop, the conver is intriguing as it shows what is basically that. Although I think screens are too solar demanding. I remember hearing that there were small servers that were solar powered so at night the server shutsdown and the website it hosted will go offline at night time.

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      This is pretty cool.
      I love looking at old graphic design, and realizing that it was done entirely by hand without a computer.
      In general tech history is a wild and surprising story.
      The Whole Earth Catalog was a major cornerstone of the entire thing.
      IBM was the antithesis of Silicon Valley, and there was a East vs West culture clash going on.

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         last month  

        😍🔟🫵

        Thanks for sharing!

        !discovery

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           last month  

          This post was shared and voted inside the discord by the curators team of discovery-it
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             last month (edited) 

            @darth-azrael, I'm refunding 0.370 HIVE and 0.000 HBD, because there are no comments to reward.

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