Computer Shopper (November 1990)

_{Cover of the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper}

This issue of Computer shopper weighs in at nearly 900 pages. How many people have even seen a magazine with 900 pages? For a while, Computer Shopper was regularly publishing these telephone book sized issues. While there were tons of ads, there was tons of great content too. It's amazing how consolidated the computer market has become since the heyday of Computer Shopper. The November 1990 issue includes:

Features

80386SX Systems: Limo or Lemon - The difference between the 386 (or 386DX as it would become) and the 386SX was that the DX was fully 32-bit while the SX was 32-bit internally and 16-bit externally. This meant that theoretically that the DX could access more memory (up to 4GB vs. 16MB for the SX) and that memory access was much faster. The memory limit difference made little difference as few people ever put as much as even 16MB in a 386. The memory access speed was a much bigger deal. Clock for clock, the 386 DX was about 33% faster than a 286. The 386 SX was actually slightly slower at the same clock speed than a 286. 386SX systems were cheaper though and this article compares four systems including the CompuAdd 320s, Swan 386SX, Sunnytech STI 386SX-16, and MicroLab 386/168. All systems came with 40 MB hard drive and memory ranging from 1 MB to 4 MB. Prices ranged from about about $1700 to about $2900.

Exploding the Myth of the Mail-Order Market - There was a time when the mail order market for computers was a risky endeavor. However, even by 1990, there were many reliable vendors.

Mail-Order Buying: All About Delays - One person's experience with endless delays when purchasing a variety of products via mail order.

Tightrope Walking - Concerns with buying a computer from little-known manufacturers.

Buyer's Guide

24-Pin Dot Matrix Printers: Still Kicking After All These Years - For a long time, dot-matrix printers were the only affordable printer options for the average person. Eventually ink jet would come along and replace them but it took a while. In the dot-matrix world, there were 9-pin and 24-pin printers with 24-bin being the better quality (and more expensive) option.

24-Pin Printers: Technology Overview - A look at how 24-pin dot matrix printers work, or really dot matrix printers in general.

Comparison Charts - A comparison of 50 different 24-pin dot matrix printers. Prices range from $449 to $3595.

Software

State of the Apps: Presentation Graphics - An overview of presentation software including Applause II from Ashton-Tate (DOS), Lotus' Freelance Plus (DOS), PowerPoint 2.01 from Microsoft (Macintosh), and Aldus Persuasion (Macintosh).

Games - Reviews of Ishido: The Way of Stones (DOS, Amiga, Macintosh), Hoyle's Book of Games II: Solitaire (DOS, Amiga), Blue Angels Formation Flight Simulation (DOS, Amiga, Commodore 64), and Railroad Tycoon (DOS).

New Stuff - A look at some new products including the ATFAX 9600 ($249 9600bps fax/modem board), Pocket Modem (2400bps modem), Envision It (a $399 tracing, shape recognition and raster-to-vector conversion program for DOS), RapidTax (tax software for DOS), and more.

_{Table of Contents from the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper}

IBM

Charles Bermant - Commentary on how the current age would be the most chronicled in history due to the personal computer.

IBM News - Gilbert Hyatt to be awarded to patent on the microprocessor; Intex updates products for new version of Lotus 1-2-3; QuarkXPress 3.0 shipping for $795; and more.

Northgate OmniKey Ultra - A PC, XT, AT, and PS/2 compatible keyboard for $149.

Spear 80386SX: A Well-To-Do Commoner - A customized 16 MHz 386SX based machine for $3390.

Home on the Range with Cote Computers 386/20 - A 20MHz 386DX based system with 4MB of RAM, 64K cache, 200 watt power supply, 40MB Quantum IDE hard drive, ATI Wonder Super VGA with 512K, and more for $3077.

Micro Express Regal 386LX Lunchbox: Raison D'etre? - A portable 16 MHz 386SX based machine with a 40MB Conner IDE hard drive, Teac 3.5-inch 1.44MB floppy drive, 1MB RAM, and a super EGA 640x400 gas plasma screen for $2599.

Canon's LBP-8 Mark III Laser Printer: A New Standard Emerges - The latest laser printer from Canon for $2995.

What Can You Get for $5,000 - For $4897 from CompuAdd you get a 25 MHz 386 based computer with 2MB RAM, 1.2MB 2.5-inch disk drive, 1.44MB 3.5-inch disk drive, and a 150Mb ESDI hard drive among other things.

IBM's LaserPrinter E: Turning New Ground - A $1495 laser printer from IBM that can be upgraded to support postscript ($499 with 17 fonts, $899 with 39 fonts) and faster speeds ($1099 to go to 10-ppm from 5-ppm), and more.

Ampro's Little Board/386: The World's Smallest Computer - A 20-MHz 386 based machine that is only 5.75x8 inches for $1695. It also is expandable via mini-modules to add things like modems, networking, etc.

Big League Teleprompting on Your IBM PC with Econo-Prompt - $40 teleprompting software for DOS. Included in the article is a design for a teleprompting box you can build yourself.

QEdit Text Editors: Small Size, High Quality - A look at two versions of this simple text editor. QEdit Advanced 2.1 and QEdit TSR 1.1.

PopDrop Plus: RAM-Cram Manager - A TSR manager that lets you load and unload TSRs from active memory as you need them.

Off-Track? The PC-Trac Trackball - A review of this somewhat flawed trackball controller for PCs. I know a guy where I work that still prefers to use a trackball to a mouse.

_{Table of Contents from the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper (continued)}

Macintosh

Steven Bobker - The dearth of serial ports on the Mac and ways to add more.

Mac News - New Macs reach retail shelves including the Macintosh Classic, Mac IIsi, and Mac LC; Northgate exists Mac keyboard market; dBASE IV 1.1 released; and more.

MathCAD And Theorist: Two Math Problem-Solvers - A look at two math software packages for the Mac.

atOnce! for the Macintosh - Accounting software designed for small businesses.

Abaton 300/GS: Almost the Supreme Scanner - A monochrome flatbed scanner for $1595.

MacRIP and Freedom of Press: PostScript Without the Price Tag - Freedom of Press offers 35 fonts for PostScript printing on more than 50 different printers. MacRIP is similar but comes with fewer fonts (17) and more limitations (like lack of color printing for most fonts).

Rodime Cobra Hard Drives: Take a Bite Out of Your Storage Requirements - The Cobra series of drives is available in a variety of capacities including 45, 70, 100, 210, 330, and 650MB. The 100MB external model is looked at here ($1949).

Unix

Saul Lubkin - A look at the kinds of changes that had to be made to port Norton Utilities to Unix.

Unix News - Report titled "Technical Guide to Unix Engineering Workstations" released which compares 119 workstations; Sun positions SPARCstation as direct competitor to high end PCs; and more.

Amiga

Peggy Herrington - A look at the new Amiga CDTV.

Amiga News - Delays with NewTek's video Toaster for the Amiga 2000/2500 and more.

The Art Department: Amiga Graphics Go Pro - A image-conversion and processing utility for the Amiga.

Misc.

Feedback Forum - Letters from readers about IBM vs. clones, discontinuation of Apple II coverage, the PC3 portable computer, and more.

Ask Dr. John - Questions answered about upgrading from the Epson FX-80 to an HP LaserJet, getting two computers to communicate via LapLink, printing special characters, and more.

Coming Events - A list of upcoming computer shows/fairs. There are 17 listed here for November and early December. i don't think these sorts of things even exist anymore.

_{Back cover of the November 1990 issue of Computer Shopper}