_{Cover of the March 1986 issue of Compute!}

Compute! was an excellent magazine that covered most popular computers of the time. I was partial to the spin-off Gazette because I had a Commodore 64 but this one was excellent as well. It was a little less technical that Byte but all magazines at the time were technical compared to today. The March 1986 issue includes:

Features

• The Future of Mass Storage - The future was bright for mass storage. 3.5" floppies were replacing 5.25" floppies, Hard drives were becoming affordable, and optical storage for the average user was on the horizon.


• The Computerized Home - Computerized home automation was a thing long before Alexa. The X-10 interface was the de-facto standard and X-10 modules were available for pretty much any platform.


• Switchbox - A type-in puzzle game with versions specifically for the Commodore 128, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, PC, and Amiga.


• SpeedCalc for Atari - A type-in professional quality spreadsheet program for the Atari 8-bit.

Reviews

• The Works! - A software package for the Commodore 64 and Apple II that includes 13 programs in the categories of tools, organizers, arts, and learning.


• Under Fire - A World War II strategy game for the Apple II.


• M-Disk - Software for creating a RAM Disk on the Atari ST.


• Atari XM301 Modem - A 300bps direct connect modem for Atari 8-bit computers.


• EduCalc and NoteCard Maker - A combination of a simplified spreadsheet program and simplified database manager with versions for the Commodore 64, Apple II, and PC (Apple II version reviewed here).


• Hex - A puzzle/strategy game for the Atari ST.


• Sylvia Porter's Personal Financial Planner - This software package includes six programs including Transaction Manager, Budget Manager, Asset/Liability Manager, Balance Sheet, and Financial Planner. The Commodore 64 version is reviewed here with versions also available for the PC and Apple II.

_{Table of Contents from the March 1986 issue of Compute!}

Columns and Departments

• The Editor's Notes - A comparison of the new Amiga and Atari ST.


• Readers' Feedback - Letters from readers about code comments, computers for charity, recording music on the Amiga, and more.


• HOTWARE - The top five selling software titles in three different categories. In the top places were F-15 Strike Eagle (Entertainment), Typing Tutor III (Education), and Print Shop (Home Management).


• INSIGHT: Atari - A look at Atari character codes. Atari 8-bit computers used a variant of ASCII called ATASCII.


• The Beginner's Page: Cutting Strings Without Scissors - How to split strings in BASIC.


• Computers and Society: Humanizing the User Interface, Part 1 - Exploring ways to make the user interface easier to use and more intuitive.


• The World Inside the Computer: Snowflakes, Quilts, and Stained Glass Windows - Art on the Amiga.


• Telecomputing Today Games Modern People Play - A look at online multiplayer gaming. At the time, that typically meant turn based gaming on BBS systems or services like CompuServe.


• IBM Personal Computing: The Ultimate Entertainment Center - A guide for using your PC or PCjr with a TV.


• Programming the TI: IF-THEN Statements - Using IF-THEN statements including examples for simulating AN/OR, doing Algebra, and more.


• News & Products - Valhalla announced for the Commodore 64; MIDI Ensemble for the PC; AtariWriter and AtariWriter Plus word processors for the Atari ST; What's Our Worth? home inventory package for the Commodore 64; and more.

The Journal

• IBM Fractal Graphics - Three type-in programs for creating fractals on the IBM PC and PCjr.


• Commodore ML Saver - A type-in program for saving machine language programs directly from memory to disk on the Commodore 64.


• Loading and Linking Commodore Programs, Part 1 - The first in a series of article on loading, chaining, and overlaying programs on Commodore computers.


• Atari P/M Graphics Toolkit - Atari Player/Missile graphics is the Atari 8-bit version of sprites. This type-in toolkit makes it easier to develop and use P/M graphics on the Atari.


• MultiMemory for Commodore 64 and Apple - Short type-in programs for the Commodore 64 and Apple II that allow you to segment memory for loading multiple BASIC programs.


• Experimenting with SID Sound - Some examples for controlling the Commodore 64's SID sound chip.


• Mousify Your Applesoft Programs, Part 1 - The first of a two-part guide to using a mouse (or joystick or paddles) with your own programs.


• Atari BootStuffer - This short type-in program for the Atari 8-bit allows you to create a menu system to load up to 8 different programs with one key press.


• Requester Windows in Amiga BASIC - A guide to adding requester windows (dialog boxes) to Amiga BASIC programs.


• Softkeys for Atari BASIC - This type-in program gives you automatic line numbering and various hotkeys when writing your own BASIC programs.


• BASIC Sound on the Atari ST - A guide to getting started with creating basic sound effects on your Atari ST.

_{Back cover of the March 1986 issue of Compute!}

...and more!

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Check out some of my other recent posts:

Vintage Photos - Lot 3 (625-628)
https://ecency.com/photography/@darth-azrael/vintage-photos-lot-3-625

Commodore World Volume 1, Issue 4
https://ecency.com/retrocomputing/@darth-azrael/commodore-world-volume-1-issue

Vintage Photos - Lot 3 (621-624)
https://ecency.com/photography/@darth-azrael/vintage-photos-lot-3-621

Vintage Photos - Lot 3 (617-620)
https://ecency.com/photography/@darth-azrael/vintage-photos-lot-3-617

Computer Shopper (September 1994)
https://ecency.com/retrocomputing/@darth-azrael/computer-shopper-september-1994

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Check out my other Social Media haunts (though most content is links to stuff I posted on Hive or re-posts of stuff originally posted on Hive):

Wordpress: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/darth-azrael
X: https://x.com/Darth_Azrael
Blogger: https://megalextoria.blogspot.com/
Odyssee: https://odysee.com/@Megalextoria:b
Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-2385054
Daily Motion: https://www.dailymotion.com/Megalextoria

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Books I am reading or have recently read:

Red Star Falling by Steve Berry.
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry
The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson

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