[editor : Carl T. Helmers Jr.] [publisher : Virginia Peschke Londner] [art : Stephen Kruse, Wai Chiu Li, Dorothy Shamonsky, Ellen Shamonsky] [cover : Robert Tinney] #Magazine

#Abstract

About the Cover... This month, Robert Tinney has created an oil painting on the theme of "Organs of Computers." Two articles in this issue concern the prospect of using a personal computer system for the editing and playing of music using pipe organs under electronic control, a prospect which is emphasized by the typical small system in place of the organist. A grand pipe organ facade and red carpet emphasize the regal nature of this king of instruments - with its new servant the small computer.

The Soloworks lab at the University of Pittsburgh has been conducting experiments with computers for some time. One of their areas of interest is computer music. Jeffrey Lederer, Tom Dwyer and Margot Critchfield of that organization describe their experiments with pipe organs and a new high level music language called MUSIC in A Two Computer Music System. Page 8

The Apple II is one of several examples of fully assembled "appliance" computers available coast to coast off the shelf in computer stores. Read An Apple to Byte for a user's reations to this product, and an example of a simple "color sketchpad" application implemented on the Apple II. Page 18

If you don't know your Rauschepfeife from your Holtzregal, perhaps The Microcomputer and the Pipe Organ by Jef Raskin can help. The article introduces readers to pipe organ technology and gives valuable advice to the enterprising experimenter who wants to experiment with programmed passacaglias on a Grossemischung. Page 56

The study of biological neural computers is an important input to thought and design of robotic systems. This issue contains Ernest W Kent's third article in a series on The Brains of Men and Machines. This installment, How the Brain Analyzes Input, gives essential background information on the organization and operation of sensory processing in the nervous systems of mammals such as man. Page 74

Would you like to do your own EROM programming, but don't know how to begin? Read Steve Ciarcia's Program Your Next EROM in BASIC. You'll find an inexpensive circuit for programming and erasing these useful devices. Page 84

We have seen advance publicity and claims about the PET 2001 by Commodore for some time now. In this issue, Dan Fylstra reports on the realities of The PET 2001 which arrived at his door October 11 1977. Page 114

In part 2 of his 3 part series on CIE Net: A Design for a Network of Community Information Exchanges, Mike Wilber presents the detailed protocols designed for various types of messages between users and between intelligent nodes of the network itself. Page 152

Readers of the January 1978 BYTE may recall Dark Horse, one of the computer program contenders for the World Computer Chess Championship. This month, Peter Jennings' Microchess program makes a valiant effort to beat the favorite in Microchess 1.5 versus Dark Horse. Page 166

Have you ever thought you might like to Take a Course in Microprogramming? Richard Mac Millan gives his reactions upon taking such a course from the Wintek Corporation. His information may help you decide if the course you think you might like to take is just what you had in mind. Page 168

A really useful microcomputer should be able to control the environment around it. To do this it must be capable of controlling electronic devices which are not TTL compatible. Hank Olson describes several ways of doing this in Controlling the Real World. Page 174

A mass storage system is essential to the truly usable personal computer. One option for obtaining mass storage is presented in this issue by Phil Hughes' article Interfacing the Sykes OEM Floppy Disk Kit to a Personal Computer. Page 178

With the cost of microprocessors so low, the barriers to a multiprocessor capability go down. Rather than adding a memory region to your system, why not consider the concept of adding a combined memory and microprocessor subsystem. With an appropriate multiport memory region and control logic, Ken R Castleman's The Intelligent Memory Block is a very real possibility for the homebrewer with higher thruput as a goal. Page 186

[author : Carl Helmers] #Edito

Extract : «  In this issue, we have included the first two of four users' reviews of fully assembled and tested self-contained computers. The selection criterion is that the "typical user" (in two cases Dan Fylstra, one case Dennis Barbour, and one case myself) was able to purchase an off-the-shelf computer of the low end "appliance" variety. These machines represent a significant technological achievement in the form of a fairly inexpensive computer with a high level language (BASIC) and limited mass storage facility in the form of audio or modified audio cassette tape. In their class of price and performance circa December 1 1977, these "appliance" computers represent perhaps the ultimate we have seen to date.

As time goes on, I'll update the ultimate, but that is not my purpose in this essay. There is a utilitarian class of personal computer products which I have used most in my homebrew system. I refer of course to the high end of performance in small computer systems, the system with perhaps 16 K to 32 K memory, single or dual full size floppy disks, terminal device, and all the accoutrements of what we used to know as "minicomputers" but now within the price range of the family that can afford an $8000 car. My attention was turned to this class of machine recently when I began shopping around for some equipment and software to automate several aspects of the manuscript preparation process which I and my associates in the editorial department perform daily at BYTE. [...]  »

TABLE OF CONTENTS

[theme : Memory] [author : Ciarcia] #Electronic #Listing #BASIC #Interface #Storage

Extract : «  [...] "I've been meaning to get a programmer one of these days, but it costs a fortune. I wouldn't use it enough to justify the expense. I called Bob and he let me look at the assembly listing of an EROM programmer. I brought it along so we could cut another on your system. I've never been very good at assembly language programming. The listing of his programmer looks quite involved. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to incorporate it into my operating system by tomorrow night. You just gotta help me, Steve...please?" [...]  »

[theme : Hardware] [author : Hughes] #Electronic #Interface #Listing #Assembly #Storage

Extract : «  This article shows how I interfaced a Sykes 7158 OEM floppy disk kit to a SwTPC MP-68 computer system. The system presented is not the ultimate design but it has been built and it operates properly. I consider it a good basis for the development of a disk operating system.

First, let's look at the Sykes kit. The 7158 kit consists of an Orbis disk drive and a controller designed and built by Sykes which employs a 6502 microprocessor. This is one of the smarter controllers. The interface consists of only an 8 bit bidirectional bus and five control lines for hardware requirements. Software commands such as track select, read sector X and reset are used. Additional commands such as step head in and step head out are available but are only used for diagnostic purposes. Cost of the 7158 kit is about $1300. [...]  »

[theme : Hardware] [author : Holman] #Electronic

Extract : «  The 8080 processor "wakes up" at 000 000 (split octal) as people with homebrew systems probably know. My system has a bootstrap programmable read only memory which initializes my 10 ports (keyboard, cassette interface, and video display) and allows me to load a program. Many available programs originate at 000 000 and, although they can be relocated, it is more convenient to leave them. Also, the very useful instruction RST (restart n) makes use of memory originating at 000 000, and, to be effective for different programs, this memory must be programmable. The problem is to get to the bootstrap first, but reserve programmable memory starting at 000 000 for programs. [...]  »

[theme : Music Hardware] [author : Critchfield-Dwyer-Lederer] #Experience #Electronic #Audio

Extract : «  The music system described here started out a few years ago as a project in the Soloworks Lab. The idea was to put together a "manipulable" system that allowed students to work with the powerful mathematical idea of synthesis. We felt that mathematics and science students should be able to experience firsthand what could be done by superimposing components that worked together to synthesize some bigger concept. [...]  »

[theme : Product Description] [author : Helmers] #Review #ComputerDesktop

Extract : «  It has been a little over a year since I first became aware of the prototype of the Apple II computer on a visit to Palo Alto CA in November of 1976. At the time I first viewed the Apple II prototype, it was little more than a wire wrapped proof of concept in a homebrew masonite box. In the year since my first exposure to the machine Apple II has become what I consider to be one of the best examples of the concept of the complete "appliance" computer. This variety of computer is sold as a finished product off the shelves of the retailer's shop or by mail from the manufacturer's warehouse. In late October of 1977, I took delivery on an Apple II with 16 K bytes of programmable user memory. After removing it from its shipping box, I connected it to a color television with the cables and radio frequency modulator supplied, and also connected it to an inexpensive tape recorder with an "index" counter to keep track of position. I was able to turn on power and begin using the computer within five minutes of receipt. After one session in my basement laboratory wiring up some joystick hardware using Apple II 's documentation as a guide, and after about three evenings of hacking with the built-in ROM BASIC interpreter, I was able to produce a program for a color sketchpad to provide an illustration of some of the potentials of such small computers for use in artistic contexts. While I treat the Apple II as one of the neatest "proofs of concept" of the idea of the personal computer yet to become available, it is by no means the only one on the market, so readers should judge for themselves with respect to their own values and preferences. [...]  »

[theme : Music Software] [author : Raskin] #Experience #Electronic #Audio

Extract : «  One night I got a call from a man who had been wandering through the personal computer stores in the area. He was looking for a computer to operate his huge pipe organ. Inevitably, he was given my phone number, since I had been going around to the same stores telling everyone that I was working on a controller for my pipe organ.

There are several gimmicky reasons for wanting to attach a computer to an organ. My reason is that the combination can provide the performer with a more flexible, easier to play instrument. And then there are all those gimmicks. As it turns out, using a microcomputer can be less expensive than conventional console wiring. Before we get into the subject too deeply, the "organization" of the king of instruments should be made clear. [...]  »

[theme : Robotics] [author : Kent] #ArtificialIntelligence #Book

Extract : «  Perhaps the most remarkable feat performed by organic brains is the resolution of the flood of data flowing from the sensory receptors into conceptually meaningful elements. It is also one of the most difficult tasks faced by the designer of robot systems. Consider the nature of the information which the brain receives about the visual world. Patterns of light, of varying wavelength and intensity, are imaged on the retina of the eye by the lens. This illumination results in a barrage of neural impulses flowing through millions of fibers in the optic nerve and activating neurons in a portion of the cerebral cortex called the primary visual cortex. Obviously, our visual experience is nothing like this barrage of impulses in axons. We "see" objects, colors, groupings of objects, all interpreted in meaningful terms. Our experience of the visual world is thus a far different matter from the visual stimulus which initiates the experience. It is not necessary that a robot have "experience" as we do, but it is necessary for one to resolve the sensory information into behaviorally relevant elements as we do. [...]

[...] Bibliography

Hubel, D, "The Visual Cortex of the Brain," Scientific American, November 1963.

Karner, N (trans). Current Problems in Neurocybernetics, Wiley, New York, 1975.  »

[theme : Product Description] [author : Fylstra] #Review #ComputerDesktop

Extract : «  About a year ago Commodore Business Machines Inc, a well-known maker of pocket calculators, startled everyone in the personal computer industry by announcing its PET computer, a self-contained unit with keyboard, display, cassette drive and built-in BASIC for $495. The announcement was greeted with considerable enthusiasm and skepticism, for Commodore obviously was stretching the state of the art in technology, manufacturing and mass distribution.

Now the first PETs have been delivered, and a few computer stores have begun advertising their availability. The PET's price has risen to $595, and in the meantime other personal computers with comparable price and performance characteristics have come on the market. Many people are wondering which computer represents the best buy in terms of hardware and software capabilities, expandability, availability and delivery, warranty and service, and software support. If you are considering purchase of such an "appliance" computer, this review should help you make your own informed judgments on these issues. [...]  »

[theme : Personal Computing Networks] [author : Wilber] #Networks #Initiation

Extract : «  The CIE Protocols - Overview of the Protocols

Two kinds of protocols are needed to transmit messages from one CIE to the next. First the stations that want to talk to one another must agree on the language they will use for talking to one another, and second, the stations along the path between the two stations must agree on the language they will use among themselves for transmitting messages between the end points. For brevity, we can call the first one an end-to-end protocol and the second an interstation protocol. All these protocols share an important property that can be used to help them coexist with other non-CIE Net protocols, be they experimental variations or completely different protocols: each interstation transmission and each end-to-end message starts with a code that identifies the protocol set being used. In addition, each of the different end-to-end messages contains a crucially placed parameter line that identifies which (of a possible set of variations) is the appropriate way to interpret it. [...]  »

[theme : Chess] [author : Jennings] #Software #GameBoard

Extract : «  When the Second World Computer Chess Championships were held in Toronto last August (see January 1978 BYTE, page 108), the opportunity arose to challenge one of the best chess programs in the world to a friendly match against my microcomputer. A match was arranged between Microchess version 1.5 and Dark Horse for the day after the tournament. [...]  »

[theme : Course Description] [author : Millan] #Experience #Programming

Extract : «  As is becoming the case for more and more people, my job is bringing me into contact with the quickly evolving field of microprocessors and their applications. This I find fortunate because for several years I have had an intense interest in these gadgets and their potential use in certain hobbyist applications.

My employer and I agreed that it would be useful for me to learn as much as possible about microcomputers in order to evaluate their future impact upon the transportation field. (I'm an engineer in automotive electronics.) To that end I started looking around for a seminar that I might attend.

One that caught my eye, a course given by Wintek Inc, offered a "free" microcomputer to each participant. The 3 day seminar that was being offered included a discussion of microcomputer hardware and software as well as hands on experience in a laboratory. The program was based on the 6800 processor family for illustrative and training purposes. [...]  »

[theme : Applications] [author : Olson] #Electronic #Interface #Book

Extract : «  For many experimenters, the microprocessor is an excellent source of mind stimulation, and that is a laudable end in itself. But after you figure out how a computer works, perhaps build one, and play various games with it, you might want to try your hand at process control. [...]

[...] References

1. General Electric, Silicon Controlled Rectifier Hobby Manual, 640.8, pages 31 thru 34, 1963.

2. Smith, G, "Applications of Opto-Isolators," Lightronix Appnote 2, Litronix Inc. 19000 Homestead Rd, Vallco Park, Cupertino CA 95014.

3. Hewlett-Packard, "Optoelectronic Applications Seminar (Notes)," 592-0343, Hewlett-Packard, 1501 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto CA 94304, 1972/1973.

4. Christian, F, "Isolation Techniques Using Optical Couplers," Motorola Application Note AN 571, Motorola Semiconductor, POB 20912, Phoenix AZ 85036, April 1973.

5. Mazur, T, "Four Terminal, Optically-Isolated Zero-Crossing AC Relay," Motorola Application Note AN 598, March 1973.  »

[theme : System Design] [author : Castleman] #Electronic #Memory #Book

Extract : «  Multiprocessing

If you were to poll a group of computer hobbyists on how to increase the power of a particular microcomputer system, you would most likely get two suggestions, namely "add memory and IO devices" and "substitute a faster processor with a more powerful instruction set." If someone suggested "add a few more processors," he/she might draw stares of disapproval. However, the idea is not as farfetched as it may sound. Multiprocessor systems exist in the world of big computers (to wit, the IBM 360/65 and the UNIVAC 1108, to name but two) and work well in their environment (see reference 1 at the end of this article). In fact, the arguments for multiprocessing may be much stronger in the microcomputer world. At any rate, the old one processor per computer rule needs reexamination in light of the availability of $20 processor chips. [...]

[...] References

1. Enslow, Philip H Jr (Ed), Multiprocessors and Parallel Processing, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1974.

2. "MC6800 Data Sheet," Motorola Semiconductors, POB 20912, Phoenix AZ 85036.

3. "MCS 6500 Microcomputer Family Hardware Manual," MOS Technology Inc, 950 Rittenhouse Rd, Norristown PA 19401.

4. "Microprocessor Applications Manual," Motorola Semiconductor Products Inc, McGraw-Hill, Hill, New York, 1975.

5. Henshaw, Jerry, "Stretch That 6800 Clock," BYTE, December 1976, pages 42 thru 46.  »

#Book

Extract : «  Chess and Computers by David Levy, Computer Sciences Press, Potomac MD, 1976, 145 pages. Paperbound, $8.95. [...]  »

#Book

Extract : «  [...] MITS, Theory and Operations Manual — Altair 8800. D Denney and J Broom, "Why Not a Standard 100-Wire Bus Structure," IEEE Computer, October 1976, pages 57 to 58.

WM Goble, "Introducing the S-100: Standard Small Computer Bus Structure," Interface Age, June 1977, pages 66 to 79.  »

#Association