_{Cover of the December 1986 issue of Byte}

I'm still amazed at how large some older computer magazines were. While Computer Shopper was known for its phone book sized issues, this issue of Byte comes in approaching 500 pages which is still larger than your average novel. Byte covered whatever computer systems were around at the time though as the years went on, more and more of that coverage was PC related. The December 1986 issue of Byte includes:

Features

Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar: Build the GT180 Color Graphics Board, Part 2: Hardware - The second part in a series for building a color graphics board for the SB180 and SB180X computer. These computers were single board Z80 based CP/M machines. This article includes a parts list and schematic for the color graphics board.

Programming Project: Using DOS Functions From Turbo Pascal - A tutorial for using DOS functions from with Pascal. Included are programs for retrieving a disk directory, finding file size, and more.

Programming Insight: A Program For Approximating Integrals - A program for math geeks. This FORTRAN program calculates integral values using Gauss approximation with Aitken extrapolation.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1986 issue of Byte}

Theme: Graphics Algorithms

Henon Mapping with Pascal - Useful for simulating the behavior of physical systems such as asteroids or satellites.

Abstract Mathematical Art - A BASIC program for creating computer-generated art based on the Game of Life.

The TMS34010 Graphics System Processor - A graphics chip from Texas Instruments that can perform up to 6 million instructions per second and generate bit-mapped graphics and order of magnitude faster than general purpose processors.

Plotting The Mandelbrot Set - A C program for the Amiga that generates fractal graphics using the Mandelbrot set. I remember a similar BASIC program for my Commodore 64 but that one would take 12 hours to produce an image.

Reviews

Four IBM PC AT Clones - A review of four AT class machines. Just for reference, XT machines were 8088 based whereas AT machines were 286 based. Machines reviewed here include the Zenith Z-241 (6 MHz), Zenith Z-248 (8 MHz), Epson Equity III (6-8 MHz), and the Western AT (6-8 MHz). Prices ranged from $2395 to $4495 depending on machine and options. More expensive models included a hard drive.

The Hercules Graphics Card Plus - The original Hercules Graphics Card became the standard for monochrome graphics on the PC. the "Plus" version includes additional features such as support of alternate character sets for improved performance on applications like Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Word. It also came it at a lower price point than the original at "only" $299.

23 Modems - An evaluation of 23 different modems. Some were 300/1200 bps and some were 2400 bps. Prices ranged from $199 to $899. Hayes pretty much set the standard at the time and their modems tended to be the most expensive. On this list is the Smartmodem 1200 for $599 and the Smartmodem 2400 for $899 (the most expensive in the list). If I could have afforded it, I would have chosen the US Robotics Courier for $699.

Pascal for the IBM PC - A survey of four different Pascal packages for the PC including MS-Pascal 3.31, UCSD Pascal 4.2.1, Pro Pascal 2.14, and Professional Pascal 2.5.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1986 issue of Byte (continued)}

Kernel

Computing At Chaos Manor: The Final Frontier - Highlights of the Space Academy Conference, the lateset on Viasyn's CompuPro equipment, Intel's 80287 math coprocessor, Little Computer People, and more.

According to Webster: Season's Greetings - New products for the Amiga including a 512k RAM expansion from Access Associates (expandable to 2 MB), the MicroBotics MAS-20 Hard Disk, Instant Music and Marble Madness from Electronic Arts, and more.

Applications Only: Stocking Stuffers - A look at new software including ComicWorks (art program for the Macintosh), Balance of Power (strategy game for the PC), Blue Chip Simulations (DOS, Apple II, Commodore 64), LogiMouse C7 mouse, and more.

Best of Bix

Amiga - Discussions of unvalidated disk problems, Trackdisk, the Resident command, and more.

Atari - Discussions relating to double-buffering techniques (animation), converting Atari 8-bit graphics to the ST, and more.

IBM PC and Compatibles - Discussion of PC clones, parking the Seagate ST225 hard drive, and more.

Departments

Editorial: Byte Gets Faster - Byte shortens its lead time.

Microbytes - Use of surface-mounted technology growing, Maxell develops a disk that can store 100 megabytes using a perpendicular recording technique, 20 hours of week or less exposure to video display terminals found not to cause increased risk to pregnancy, and much more.

Letters - Letters from readers about sorting speed, CD-ROM software development, Microsoft FORTRAN and arrays, Easy C, calculating CRCs witht he 6809, and more.

What's New - A brief look at new products including NEC's MultiSpeed (IBM compatible portable running at 4.77 or 9.54 MHz), The S/50 68000 workstation from Convergent, the PayDay payroll system for the Atari ST, the Motorola MC68030, the Paradise EGA chip, the PhotoMetric 200 PC slide making system, SuperSonic stereo sound board for teh Apple IIGS, the Wysepc+ XT-compatible system, the AMQ 286 Model II portable computer, the ITT XTRA/286 IBM PC AT compatible workstation, Rodime RO 3000 3.5" hard drives (45.4 MB and 54.5 MB), 512K-4M memory expansion board for the Apple IIGS, SpeedTerm 128 terminal package for the Commodore 128, Thinking Cap outlining software for the Commodore 64, and lots more.

_{Back cover of the December 1986 issue of Byte}

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Books I am reading or have recently read:

Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: God of War by Jeff Rovin
Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

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Byte (December 1986)