Byte was perhaps the most successful early computer magazine. In its early days, it covered what would have been considered small business computers, hobbyist systems, and the first home computers. This issue from July 1981 is from shortly before the original IBM PC was introduced and includes:
Features
The Santa Cruz Open: Othello Tournament for Computers - Twenty teams compete to create the best Othello program.
Build a Z8-Based Computer with BASIC, Part I - The first in a two part series on building a small computer based on the Zilog Z8 CPU and could be used for microcontroller applications.
Harvesting the Sun's Energy - A type-in program to calculate the proper placement and positioning of solar panels used for heating.
What Time Does the Sun Rise and Set? - A type-in program that will give you sunrise and sunset times for a given latitude, longitude, and date.
Multiprocessing with Motorola's MC6809E - The 6809 was a pretty advanced processor for its time. This was also the processor that the TRS-80 Color Computer used. The 'E' version had a few changes that made it possible to build multiprocessor systems with them. This article describes those changes and creating a multiprocessor system with it.
Computer Simulation of a Solar Energy System - Using a computer to simulate a solar-energy system using the heat transfer equation.
Energy Conservation with a Microcomputer - A program to calculate requirements for space conditioning and to help you save energy.
Kalman Mileage Predictor-Monitor - Using Kalman filtering techniques to estimate fuel mileage.
The Infamous Traveling-Salesman Problem: A Practical Approach - A guide to solving the traveling-salesman problem with your computer.
Micromodem Support in Apple Pascal - Accessing the Hayes Micromodem II on an Apple II Plus with Apple Pascal.
Computer-Aided Drafting with Apple Pascal - Using an Apple II, Apple Pascal, a Sup'r'terminal board, a Graphics Tablet, and custom software to create a computer-aided drafting system.
Mountain Computer's MusicSystem - A synthesizer board and software for creating music for the Apple II for $545.
The Atari Assembler/Editor - A detailed look at Atari Assembler/Editor on cartridge from Atari for the Atari 400/800.
DOS Plus: Double-Density Operating System for the TRS-80 - A version of DOS for the TRS-80 Mdel I that supports both double and single density disks and is superior in other ways to the version of DOS supplied with Percom's Doubler.
Percom's Doubler - A hardware add-on and associated software to nearly double the storage space on floppy disks and increase their speed for a TRS-80 Model I.
Videx Keyboard and Display Enhancer - This adapter adds lower-case text capability to the Apple II, particularly useful for word processing.
Nucleus
Editorial: IBM's Personal Computer - A description and commentary on IBM's upcoming personal computer, or at least what was known at the time.
Letters - Letters from readers about bugs in BASIC interpreters, structured programming, self replicating programs, and more.
System Notes - Solving a problem with the OSI Challenger when the terminal width is less than 24 characters.
Programing Quickies - A hurricane tracking program, an energy measurement device and software for the Apple II, and an inflation calculator.
Ask BYTE - Questions answered about generating titles for VHS tapes on a TRS-80 Model I, EPROM programming, I/O expansion on the TRS-80 Model I, and more.
BYTELINES - NSF approves establishment of CSNET; using Videodisk players for databases and computer aided instruction; founders of MOS start Sirius Systems Technology; Rockwell International abandons bubble memory market; maximum number of transistors on a single IC predicted (wrongly); National Semiconductor develops ECC memory; and more.
Education Forum: Animation in Computer-Assisted instruction: The Replication of DNA - This article presents an example of computer aided instruction using a TRS-80 and DNA as the subject matter.
Technical Forum: Catch Bytes with a Comparator - A guide to building a logic probe for debugging purposes.
What's New - A look at new items including a serial interface that allows up to eight RS-232C devices to be attached to your computer, a new 150-cps paper tape reader from Addmaster, the MTL portable cassette system, the Model 84G dot matrix graphics printer, the Series III Speech Module from Telesensory Systems Inc., an 8-inch floppy drive for North Star computers, the Mediamax ETP adapter for connecting IBM Model 50, 60, and 75 electronic typewriters to computers to use as a printer, the Epax buffered serial interface for Epson MX-80 printers, a 64KB version of the SuperBrain, Jinsam 8.0 database system for Commodore 8000 computers and 4.0 for Commodore 4000 computers, the XASM6809 Cross Assembler, FPL financial planning software for CP/M, Smartill terminal program for the TRS-80 Model III, and much more.
