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Compute's Amiga Resource
''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET computer. In its 1980s heyday ''Compute!'' covered all major platforms, and several single-platform spinoffs of the magazine were launched. The most successful of these was '' Compute!'s Gazette'', which catered to VIC-20 and Commodore 64 computer users. History ''Compute!''s original goal was to write about and publish programs for all of the computers that used some version of the MOS Technology 6502 CPU. It started out in 1979 with the Commodore PET, VIC-20, Atari 400/800, Apple II+, and some 6502-based computers one could build from kits, such as the Rockwell AIM 65, the KIM-1 by MOS Technology, and others from companies such as Ohio Scientific. Coverage of the kit computers and the Commodore PET were eventually dropped. The plat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laser Chess
Laser Chess is a two-player, strategy video game from 1987, modeled as a board game with chess-like pieces, most of which have mirrored surfaces, and one of which is a laser cannon. ''Laser Chess'' first appeared in ''Compute!'s Atari ST Disk & Magazine'' in 1987, written in Modula-2, winning the $5,000 first prize in a programming competition held by the magazine. Ports of the game written in BASIC and machine language were published in the June 1987 issue of ''Compute!'' for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit family as type-in programs. ''Laser Chess'' has been re-implemented many times over the years, including a variant ''Advanced Laser Chess'' with a larger board and additional pieces, or the new variant "LASER CHESS: Deflection" bringing a level editor, more and more pieces like portals available on Steam. Gameplay Players take alternate turns taking two actions with their pieces. An action consists of moving a piece vertically or laterally, rotating a piec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on the Texas Instruments TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. The associated video display controller provides color graphics and sprite support which were only comparable with those of the Atari 400 and 800 released a month after the TI-99/4. The calculator-style keyboard of the TI-99/4 was cited as a weak point, and TI's reliance on ROM cartridges and their practice of limiting developer information to select third parties resulted in a lack of software for the system. The TI-99/4A was released in June 1981 to address some of these issues with a simplified internal design, full-travel keyboard, improved graphics, and a unique expansion system. At half the price of the original model, sales picked up significantly and TI supported the 4A with peripherals, including a speech synthesizer and a "Perip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SpeedScript
SpeedScript is a word processor originally printed as a type-in MLX machine language listing in 1984-85 issues of ''Compute!'' and ''Compute!'s Gazette'' magazines. Approximately 5 KB in length, it provided many of the same features as commercial word processing packages of the 8-bit era, such as PaperClip and Bank Street Writer. Versions were published for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and 128, Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, and MS-DOS. Versions In April 1983 ''Compute!'' published Scriptor, a word processor written by staff writer Charles Brannon in BASIC and assembly language, as a type-in program for the Atari 8-bit family. In January 1984 version 1.0 of his new word processor SpeedScript appeared in ''Compute!'s Gazette'' for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20. 1.1 appeared in ''Compute!'s Second Book of Commodore 64'', 2.0 on ''Gazette Disk'' in May 1984, and 3.0 in ''Compute!'' in March and April 1985. Corrections that updated 3.0 to 3.1 appeared in May 1985, and the full 3.1 ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MLX (software)
MLX is a series of machine language entry utilities published by the magazines ''COMPUTE!'' and ''COMPUTE!'s Gazette'', as well as books from COMPUTE! Publications. These programs were designed to allow relatively easy entry of the type-in machine language listings that were often included in these publications. Versions were available for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit family, and Apple II. MLX listings were reserved for relatively long machine language programs such as SpeedScript, some high-performance utilities, and fast-paced games. First version MLX was introduced in the December 1983 issue of ''COMPUTE!'' for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family (necessary to input the Atari gamChopperoidson Pg 122), and simultaneously in the December 1983 issue of ''COMPUTE!'s Gazette'' to be used for the entry of two C-64 machine language games, the excellenSpike(Pg 74) and the competitivSpace Duel(Pg 80). This was followed by a version in the January 1984 issue of ''COMPU ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BASIC Loader
A type-in program or type-in listing was computer source code printed in a home computer magazine or book. It was meant to be entered via the keyboard by the reader and then saved to cassette tape or floppy disk. The result was a usable game, utility, or application program. Type-in programs were common in the home computer era from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, when the RAM of 8-bit systems was measured in kilobytes and most computer owners did not have access to networks such as bulletin board systems. Magazines such as ''Softalk'', ''Compute!'', ''ANALOG Computing'', and ''Ahoy!'' dedicated much of each issue to type-in programs. The magazines could contain multiple games or other programs for a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercial software on removable media, but the user had to spend up to several hours typing each one in. Most listings were either in a system-specific BASIC dialect or machine code. Machine code programs were long lists of decimal or he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
