Inspired by this post, I spent some time seeking out scanned copies of one of my favorite things from my childhood: Compute! Magazine. I had a Commodore 64 as my first computer, and I use edit to learn how to program BASIC. One of the best tools in my education was my subscription to Compute!
Each issue had programs that you could type in, debug, and run… You had to spend HOURS typing these programs in, and if the cassette tape you saved the programs on “glitched”, you had to start over.
And, yes, you can now get off my lawn now, you kids!
Looking at the magazines now, I laugh as so much of the content… but nothing makes me laugh more than the ads.
The BEST word processor for the C64! You can save files on your giant floppy disk and print it out on a printer the size of your car! Special discount if you put perm your hair and look a little like Yeoman Rand. If you squint.
Is it unbeatable? IS IT? I understand there are some people who live in the Appalachians who are still trying, and there are rumors of someone in New Jersey who beat it… They call him “The One.”
What the hell, Compute! Magazine? AN IBM computer?! Did you not review this before publication? Seriously. And the idea that you can have a high-paying career in programming? Preposterous.
From the makers of Blazing Saddles! Wow, ad designers in the 80s took SOOOO many drugs.
You too, can enjoy Compute! Magazine again – or for the first time – by clicking here.