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Supersoft
Supersoft was a software and computer game developer and publisher founded in England in 1978. It was founded by Peter Calver and Pearl Wellard to develop and publish software primarily for the Commodore PET. History The earliest Supersoft catalogue known to have survived dates from December 1979. Earlier catalogues were photocopied in small quantities. Hardware In 1980 Supersoft released the first user-installable firmware product to be developed in the UK, the ''Petmaster Superchip''. The following year the company expanded into hardware with the release of a high-resolution graphics card for the Commodore PET - and although by modern standards the resolution of 320 × 200 pixels is not high, it was a considerable improvement on the 80 × 50 capability of the standard model. Originally run from the founders' home in Eastcote, Middlesex the business moved to office premises in Wealdstone in 1981. Software Early games published by Supersoft for the Commodore PET included ''Air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audiogenic
Audiogenic Software was a British video game development company. It was established in 1985 following an earlier Audiogenic company that had been founded in the late 1970s. It published its last new title in 1997, after the core of the development team were taken over by Codemasters to create ''Brian Lara Cricket'' on the PlayStation. The company is, however, still in existence and continues to license its portfolio of titles to third parties for conversion onto new formats. Though almost unknown in the United States, the company was successful in the United Kingdom and in Australia with a line of cricket and rugby games, some versions of which were licensed to other publishers. Several games were also published under licence in Japan, including ''World Class Rugby'' for the Super NES, and a follow-up, ''World Class Rugby 2'', both of which were published by Imagineer. First company The original company, Audiogenic Limited, was started as a recording studio called Sun in Read ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it was later adapted to other formats, including novels, stage shows, comic books, a 1981 TV series, a 1984 text-based computer game, and 2005 feature film. ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' has become an international multi-media phenomenon; the novels are the most widely distributed, having been translated into more than 30 languages by 2005. The first novel, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (1979), has been ranked fourth on the BBC’s The Big Read poll. The sixth novel, ''And Another Thing'', was written by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams. In 2017, BBC Radio 4 announced a 40th-anniversary celebration with Dirk Maggs, one of the original producers, in charge. The first of six new episodes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skyles Electric Works
Skyles Electric Works is a company founded in 1978 in California by Bob Skyles, a former Commodore engineer, to produce hardware add-ons for the Commodore PET. Like Apple Computer, it began in a garage in Cupertino, California, but for most of the company's existence it was based in nearby Mountain View. The company employed 13 between 1985 and 1987 and reached annual sales of over $501,000 in those years. The first products from Skyles Electric Works were memory expansions and keyboards (the first PETs had calculator-style keys which were unsuited to touch-typing). The earliest software products were firmware, including the ''Command-O'' and ''Disk-O-Pro'', which enhanced the BASIC language of the PET. The company also published cassette and disk-based software including ''Busicalc'', the first spreadsheet program for the Commodore 64, and which was licensed from Supersoft in England. ''Busicalc'' and the follow-up products ''Busicalc 2'' and ''Busicalc 3'' were highly successf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Industry
The software industry includes businesses for development, maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doct ... and software publisher, publication of software that are using different business models, mainly either "license/maintenance based" (on-premises) or "Cloud computing, Cloud based" (such as SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, Mobile backend as a service, MBaaS, MSaaS, DCaaS etc.). The industry also includes software services, such as training, software documentation, documentation, consulting and data recovery. The software and computer services industry spends more than 11% of its net sales for Research & Development which is in comparison with other industries the second highest share after pharmaceuticals & biotechnology. History The first company founded to provide software pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Companies Established In 1978
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems which, in turn, were replaced by flat panel displays of several types. Video systems vary in display resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, color capabilities and other qualities. Analog and digital variants exist and can be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcast, magnetic tape, optical discs, computer files, and network streaming. History Analog video Video technology was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) television systems, but several new technologies for video display devices have since been invented. Video was originally exclusively a live technology. Charles Ginsburg led an Ampex research team developing one of the first practical video ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 64 Software
The Commodore 64 amassed a large software library of nearly 10,000 commercial titles, covering most genres from games to business applications, and many others. Applications, utility, and business software While the 1541 disk drive's slow performance made the Commodore 64 mostly unsuitable as a business computer, it was still widely used for many important tasks, including computer graphics creation, desktop publishing, and word processing. Info 64, the first magazine produced with desktop publishing tools, was created on and dedicated to the Commodore platform. The best known art package was perhaps KoalaPainter, primarily because of its own custom graphics tablet user interface - the KoalaPad. Another popular drawing program for the C64 was Doodle!. A Commodore 64 version of The Print Shop existed, allowing users to generate signs and banners with a printer. "The Newsroom" was a desktop publishing suite. Lightpens and CAD drawing software were also commercially produced, such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore BASIC
Commodore BASIC, also known as PET BASIC or CBM-BASIC, is the dialect of the BASIC programming language used in Commodore International's 8-bit home computer line, stretching from the PET of 1977 to the C128 of 1985. The core is based on 6502 Microsoft BASIC, and as such it shares many characteristics with other 6502 BASICs of the time, such as Applesoft BASIC. Commodore licensed BASIC from Microsoft in 1977 on a "pay once, no royalties" basis after Jack Tramiel turned down Bill Gates' offer of a per unit fee, stating, "I'm already married," and would pay no more than for a perpetual license. The original PET version was very similar to the original Microsoft implementation with few modifications. BASIC 2.0 on the C64 was also similar, and was also seen on C128s (in C64 mode) and other models. Later PETs featured BASIC 4.0, similar to the original but adding a number of commands for working with floppy disks. BASIC 3.5 was the first to really deviate, adding a number of comma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahoy!
''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, focusing on all Commodore color computers, but especially the Commodore 64 and Amiga. History The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 1984. The magazine was published monthly by Ion International and was headquartered in New York City. It published many games in BASIC and machine language, occasionally also printing assembly language source code. ''Ahoy!'' published a checksum A checksum is a small-sized block of data derived from another block of digital data for the purpose of detecting errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. By themselves, checksums are often used to verify data ... program called ''Flankspeed'' for entering machine language listings. ''Ahoy!'s AmigaUser'' was a related but separate publication dedicated to the Amiga. It was spun off from a series of columns in ''Ahoy!'' with the same title, and the first two issu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Undertones
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley (bass, vocals) and Billy Doherty (drums). Much of the earlier Undertones material drew influence from punk rock and new wave; the Undertones also incorporated elements of rock, glam rock and post-punk into material released after 1979, before citing soul and Motown as the influence for the material released upon their final album. The Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums between 1978 and 1983 before Sharkey announced his intention to leave the band in May 1983, citing musical differences as the reason for the break up. Despite the backdrop of the Troubles in Derry and across Northern Ireland, the vast majority (though not all) of the material the Undertones released focused not upon the political climate, but upo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feargal Sharkey
Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer from Northern Ireland most widely known as the lead vocalist of punk band The Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and for solo works in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single "A Good Heart" was an international success. After becoming less musically active in the early 1990s, he has performed various roles supporting the UK's commercial music industry, winning several awards and honours for his work in that area. Sharkey is also a lifelong fly fisherman and has campaigned against the pollution of British rivers (particularly chalk streams), and is the Chairman of the Amwell Magna Fishery Biography The Undertones (1976–1983) Sharkey, who was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, joined The Undertones shortly after their formation in 1975. They had several UK hits, with songs such as "Teenage Kicks", "Here Comes The Summer", "My Perfect Cousin", "Wednesday Week" and "It's Going to Happen!". The band split in 1983 citing musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Gooch's Test Cricket
''Graham Gooch's Test Cricket'' is a 1985 cricket game released for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum by Audiogenic. It was later reissued by budget label ''Alternative Software'' as ''Graham Gooch's Match Cricket''. Gameplay ''Graham Gooch's Test Cricket'' has two modes of play, arcade and simulation. *Arcade mode is for one player where the player picks the type of match and the players. During the match the player controls the action. When batting the player can move the batsman around the crease and choose the shot to play. Timing is important to performing the shot successfully. *Simulation mode is where the player can make tactical decisions but the actual play is done by the computer. The player can only watch the game, and make decisions on how his team plays. Reception At the time of release, ''Graham Gooch's Test Cricket'' was considered the most accurate cricket game out by reviewers. It received high scores for gameplay and graphics but lower s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for . Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan) for most of the later years of the 1980s. For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had between 30% and 40% share of the US market and two mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
