''Compute!'s Gazette'' (), stylized as ''COMPUTE!'s Gazette'', was a

computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as computer network, networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer Programming language, programming Tutorial, tutorials, reviews of the ...

of the 1980s, directed at users of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

home computers. Announced as ''The Commodore Gazette'', it was a Commodore-only daughter magazine of the computer hobbyist magazine ''

Compute! ''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 c ...

''. It was first published in July 1983. It contained both standard articles and

type-in program 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, ...

s. Many of these programs were quite long and sophisticated. To assist in entry, ''Gazette'' published several utilities.

The Automatic Proofreader The Automatic Proofreader is a series of checksum utilities published by COMPUTE! Publications for its ''COMPUTE!'' and ''COMPUTE!'s Gazette'' magazines, and various books. These programs are designed to allow home computer users to easily detect ...

provided checksum capabilities for

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

programs, while

machine language In computer programming, machine code is any low-level programming language, consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). Each instruction causes the CPU to perform a very ...

listings could be entered with MLX. Starting in May 1984, a companion

disk Disk or disc may refer to: * Disk (mathematics), a geometric shape * Disk storage Music * Disc (band), an American experimental music band * ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby Other uses * Disk (functional analysis), a subset of a vector sp ...

with each issue's programs was available to subscribers for an extra fee. Perhaps its most popular and enduring type-in application was the ''

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 c ...

'' word processor. A monthly column, "The VIC Magician" by Michael Tomczyk, presented BASIC programming tips and tricks for the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. The publication was reportedly profitable from its first issue, but towards the end of the 1980s, its size steadily decreased due to the increasing switch from 8-bit to

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

home computers. The last stand-alone issue of ''Compute!'s Gazette'' was published with

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

June 1990. At that point, the ''Compute!'' brand, including ''Gazette'', was sold to the publishers of '' Omni'' and ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

''. After a three-month publication hiatus, ''Gazette'' resumed publication, as an insert in the newly consolidated (and renamed) ''Compute'' (October 1990 issue) rather than as a separate magazine. It continued until December 1993, after which it switched to a disk-only format. Due to the declining Commodore userbase, publication ceased entirely after February 12, 1995.

References

External links

''Compute!'s Gazette''
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Compute!'s Gazette'' Index
– At the Classic Computer Magazine Archive, assembled by Kevin Savetz

at DLH's Commodore Archive website Monthly magazines published in the United States Commodore 8-bit computer magazines Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Magazines disestablished in 1995 Magazines established in 1983 {{compu-mag-stub