[author : Jim C. Warren, Jr.] #Edito
Extract : « During the past year or so. People's Computer Company has received several letters-with-enclosures from one Calvin N, Mooers of Rockford Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. We initiated the rather unfortunate contact by asking him for information about an interesting but relatively obscure computer language that he had developed called TRAC. (Note: TRAC is, at the least, a registered trademark, and probably patented, copyrighted, and marked with infra-red dye to boot.) What we have since received from this person, however, appears to primarily be concerned with copyrights, patents, trade-marks, and the like. [...]
We also object to the blanket indictment that has been laid on all hobbyists: "... most of you steal your software" (the essence of Bill Gate's widely publicized February 3rd, open-letter to hobbyists). [...]
Finally, to those software professionals and hardware manufacturers who choose to provide low-cost Software to the hobbyist community: We wish to actively encourage your efforts. As you develop such software, if you will forward information about it, we will be pleased to publicize it, without cost. We believe that you are taking the right track in this new and exciting area.] »
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[author : Sol Libes] #Event
Extract : « [Editor's Note: The 1976 Trenton Computer Festival was the first manufacturer-independent computer convention of national scope for hobbyists. It was held on May 2nd.]
Back in November 1975 when Al Katz and I conceived of a Computer Festival, if you had said that 1,500 people would attend, I would have said you didn't know what you were talking about. And, if you had said that we would have 45 exhibitors, I would have thought that you belonged in the "cuckoo nest." But, it all happened on May 2nd at Trenton tate College in New Jersey. [...] »
[author : Southwest Technical Products Corp. staff, Jim Day] #Printer #Book
40 Chars/Line Printer for $250
Day Recommends Science Articles
[author : John McDaniel] #Audio
Extract : « The synthesizer requires 8 parallel data bits on its input pins in order to operate. Of these 8 bits, 6 are used for phoneme slection (selection) and 2 are used for inflection level selection.
The synthesizer provides a clock output which must be used to time the input data. Data should only be presented or changed on the positive transition of this clock.
Also provided is a status indicator (zero decode), which signals the presence of input data. This is useful when the synthesizer is operated from a buffer memory interface.
All signals are TTL signal elvels (levels), except audio output. [...] »
[author : Ray Boaz] #Listing #Assembly #Diagnostic #Memory
Extract : « (reprinted with permission from Homebrew Computer Club Newsletter)
Every computer system needs a memory test program or two to ensure a high level of confidence in the memory system hardware. One bad memory bit can send a program off to Never-Never Land. The memory test programs listed here are for use with 6800 systems operating with MIKBUG as a system monitor. MIKBUG is a simple monitor (as it was meant to be) which has many useful subroutines. Several of them are made use of in these memory test programs.
The terms used herein are consistent with the 6800 nomenclature. A and B are the two accumulators, X is the index register, PC is the program counter, SP is the stack pointer, CCR is the condition code register, and M is the memory location of interest. [...] »
[author : John C. Shepard] #Listing #Assembly #Game
Extract : « EDITOR'S NOTE: A game called TEASER, written in BASIC, was published in the September, 1974, issue of PCC. The game was redone by Willard I. Nico under the title of "Shooting Stars, and was published as an eight-page article in the May, 1976, issue of Byte (pages 42-49). UNIZAP is a variation of Nico's "Shooting Stars" Game. [...] »
[author : Li-Chen Wang] #BASIC #Listing #Assembly
Extract : « Within the first five issues of Dr. Dobb’s Journal we have published complete details and listings of four versions of Tiny BASIC:
Jan. & Feb., 1976: Whipple's & Arnold's Tiny BASIC Extended (TBX)
March, 1976: Greeb's Denver Tiny BASIC
April, 1976: Mueller's MINOL
May, 1976 (now): Wang's Palo Alto Tiny BASIC
All of these have been for 8080's. We think this is
enough for the 8080, at least for the time being. Therefore,
we will publish no more 8080 versions unless they have some
very unusual or valuable features, for instance:
floating point package (well documented)
comprehensive string & substring operators
well-designed graphics/display interface & commands
complete interface & commands for mass storage
significant program & variables editing features
extensive package of interest built-in functions
full BASIC capabilities in under two kilobytes
We are very interested, however, in publishing complete information on some versions of Tiny BASIC for the many other microprocessors, for example: 8008 PACE 6502 6800 SC/MP ETC.
Also, as you read through the articles on the first four implementations, you should see better ways to do things, features that can easily be added, improvements that are possible in the documentation, etc. We hope you will implement those, as you note them; write them up, and forward them for publication in the Journal as enhancements to these four Tiny BASIC dialects. [...] »
[author : Jim C. Warren, Jr.]
#OtherMagazine
Extract : « The Computer Hobbyist is a newsletter/magazine totally dedicated to the use of computers and associated devices as a hobby. Both software and hardware are discussed in feature articles. Circuit diagrams and program listings frequently supplement these articles. In addition to the features, each issue contains an editorial and regular columns on surplus, letters from subscribers, and want ads free to subscribers. Occasionally, as the material warrants, book and product reviews are printed. Frequency of publication varies from 4 to 12 weeks, so subscriptions are for a particular number of issues rather than a time period. The Computer Hobbyist is offset printed on looseleaf 8½″x11″ paper suitable for ring binding (except for the first three issues which were folded to half size) and is mailed third class to subscribers in the continental United States.
Occasionally, printed circuit boards and other hard to find components are made available to aid our readers in constructing the projects written up. [...] »
[author : Digital Group Software Systems, Inc. Staff] #BASIC #Game
Extract : « QUESTION: What could almost be better than having your micro programs run correctly?
ANSWER: Having unique micro software to utilize to your heart's content!! Whether to create some fantastic program(s) or to have the facility to entertain yourself and/or friends with programs and games requiring a bit of "think power"... especially for those days when your "think power" could stand a bit of bolstering!
All this is possible thanks to the software packages now being provided by Digital Group Software Systems, Inc., (DGSS), which was recently established and is headed by Chuck and Dianne Howerton. Software which is now available on cassette tapes, complete (for the most part) with documentation for each offering, is as follows:
1. TINY BASIC EXTENDED (TBS-TVCOS) 10K, VERSION 1 [...] PRICE: $5.00 @ cassette with documentation. [...]
2. TINY BASIC GAMES, DGSS SET 1 [...]
3. TINY BASIC GAMES, DGSS Set 2 [...]
4. TINY BASIC GAMES, DGSS Set 3 [...]
5. TINY BASIC GAMES, DGSS Set 4 [...]
6. KINGDOM; LIFE 1 & LIFE 2 (all on one tape) [...]
7. EDUCATOR 8080 [...]
8. AMATEUR RADIO HAM CASSETTE FOR 8080 [...]
9. OPERATING GUIDE - TVT MONITOR 8 FOR 8008 BASED SYSTEMS [...] »
[author : Malcolm Wright] #Audio
Extract : « In the January, 1976, issue of PCC Newspaper, an article was published on a music program for the 8080 CPU, called "Alpha-Numeric Music with Amplitude Control." Since January, the PCC bookstore has made this 22-page article available for $2. The interest at the Home Brew Computer Club, computer stores, and mail orders has been relatively high. There have been many other music routines written for the 8008 and 8080 CPU's, but Alpha-Numeric Music seems to be getting a great deal of interest from music majors, as well as the general hobbyist. Why?
Looking into the Alpha-Numeric Music (ANM) program, one can see many features that don't exist in most of the other routines. [...] »
Extract : « The Community Computer Center (CCC) will act as a repository for program tapes; both source tapes and binary tapes. Everyone wishing to contribute programs to the public domain may do so by forwarding appropriate paper tapes to CCC. In particular, if you are hesitant about submitting a program for publication in Dr. Dobb’s Journal because you don’t want to hassle with its distribution, you are encouraged to forward the tapes to CCC and the documentation to the Journal for publication.
The CCC will thus serve as a desirable alternative and supplement to the User Groups that are controlled and operated by many of the processor manufacturers, some of whom charge up to $100 for "membership" and access to the programs that their customers developed and offered to the User Group, without compensation.
There is no membership fee for access to the tapes from the Community Computer Center. Instead, one pays only for the duplication and mailing costs [...] »