Cover of the August 1984 issue of Compute!
Compute! was one of the more popular home computer magazines of its time. It wasn't as technical as something like Byte and it concentrated on the machines most potential users would be buying for their home. The August 1984 issue includes:
Features
- Software Power!: The Summer Consumer Electronics Show - While some new computers and other hardware were introduced at the Summer CES, there was also a lot of new software. Some machines made debuts privately like the Amiga Lorraine prototype, a new advanced 8-bit computer from Atari, and MSX based computers due to hit the U.S. Commodore also introduced the Plus/4 and C-16 (both of which went nowhere). Coleco was also pushing the Adam which was introduced 6 months earlier. There were also tons of games and other software for the Commodore 64, Atari, and Apple II among others.
- The COMPUTE! Interview: Gerald K. O'Neill - The head of a company called Geostar Corporation which was a computer-based satellite positioning and communications company.
Education and Recreation
- Devastator - A type-in game in which you must destroy an alien invasion force before it destroys Earth. Originally written for the VIC-20 with versions included for the Commodore 64, Color Computer, TI-99/4A, Apple II, and PC.
- Jackpot - A type-in slot machine simulator for the Ti-99/4A, Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari, and PC.
Table of Contents from the August 1984 issue of Compute!
Reviews
- The Complete Personal Accountant For The Commodore 64 - A sophisticated accounting package for the Commodore 64 that includes ten separate programs.
- Star League Baseball - An excellent baseball sim for its time for the Commodore 64.
Columns and Departments
- The Editor's Notes - An editorial on the Summer Consumer Electronics Show.
- Readers' Feedback - Readers write in about Commodore 64 memory, Pascal for the Apple II, Atari checksum errors, using the stack, slowing screen output on the Commodore 64, and more.
- Computers and Society: Computer-Assisted Explorations With Music - Teaching people to compose music with computers. This article concentrates on a software product called Musicland for the Apple II.
- The Beginner's Page: Printing And Asking - Printing special control codes (e.g. cursor movement) in BASIC by using CHR$ and ASCII values.
- INSIGHT: Atari - Using the Atari 1050 disk drive enhanced density mode.
- Programming The TI: The Singing Computer - Using the TI Speech Synthesizer to make the TI-99/4A sing.
- Machine Language: Decimal Mode, Part 2 - Some of the bugs and pitfalls with using decimal mode in machine language on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.
- 64 Explorer - Printing characters to a bitmapped display by drawing it.
- On The Road With Fred D'Ignazio: Are Computers A Home Appliance? - I don't think computers have really ever been an "appliance". More like a personal device similar to a mobile phone.
- Questions Beginners Ask - Questions answered about plugging all computer peripherals into the same wall socket via a power strip and transporting a computer by plane.
The Journal
- ML Tracer - A type-in program for the Atari, Apple II, and Commodore computers that allows you to step through machine language programs.
- 64 Searcher - A type-in program that allows you to search through you BASIC program for the string of your choice.
- 64 Error Suppression - Avoiding error messages and system freezes when an error occurs on the Commodore 64.
- Hi-Res VIC Drawing - A guide to drawing hi-res images on the VIC-20.
- ML Applesort - A type-in machine language program for the Apple II that will sort an array of any length.
- News & Products - The Drum-Key music interface board for the Apple II, an RS-232 modem adapter for Atari, Graphics Master for the Commodore 64, the Networker communications package for the Apple II, the Creative Electronics lighte pen for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20, and more.
Back cover of the August 1984 issue of Compute!
...and more!
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https://ecency.com/@darth-azrael/vintage-photos-lot-6-301
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I used to be a big fan of the CES back in the 90s, althought I was in Jr High and I wasn't able to attend to a single one. I had the magazines to bring me the reports of what was shown during that time. The infamous Panasonic-Nintendo breakup and the whole drama with SEGA Saturn and Dreamcast.