from the May 1982 issue of Practical Computing magazine The mainframe manufacturers are finding that microcomputers - so recently derided as mere toys - are making inroads into their hitherto safe preserves. Clare Gooding examines their contrasting styles, and ponders on how the giant mainframe builders will fare among the quick-witted bandits of the micro world. Time was when anyone working with computers had a hard time at social gatherings. If you were foolish enough to admit it, the reaction was either “Oh that’s all too technical for me, don’t know anything about it”, or worse, an inundation of stories about payroll computer errors and gas bills for £0.

from the March/April 1982 issue of Computer Gaming World magazine by Chris Crawford You’ve had your computer for some time now. You’ve used it to teach yourself how to program and to handle a few household problems. You’ve also used it to play games. You have noticed that many of the games available for your computer are less than perfect. Soon you begin finding the technical flaws in them, and modifying some of them.