1983

A Unix Like Operating System for 6809 Microprocessors Part II

by Stephen L. Childress from the July 1983 issue of Micro magazine (Note: The figures are not available for this article because they are impossible to read on my source.) The modularization of the I/O system allows OS-9 to enhance the standard I/O at run time, not assembly or patch time. Device names and addresses are not fixed by the operating system but, rather, the program may attempt I/O to any device name.

A Unix-Like Operating System for 6809 Microprocessors

by Stephen L. Childress from the June 1983 issue of Micro magazine Unless you’ve been on sabbatical to Siberia of late you will have noticed the swell of interest in the Unix operating system software. Most new and all the old popular 16-bit computers are supporting Unix or one of the numerous look-alikes. Why all the furor? It seems at last we’ve begun to rethink computer programming and usage. Recognizing that software development is expensive and timeconsuming, we must exploit the falling cost of today’s hardware.

AI Emerges From the Shadows

By Stephen J . Shaw from the November 1983 issue of Mini-Micro Systems magazine Slowly but earnestly, companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) field are bringing out the tools to build the heralded Fifth Generation computer systems. It’s likely to take several years for any AI-based products to have a major impact in the commercial market. But 1983 could be the year AI emerges from its R&D cocoon. Many significant product developments are coming from recently formed companies devoted exclusively to AI.

Apple II Operating Systems

by Phil Daley from the June 1983 issue of Micro magazine The operating systems that I have seen available for the Apple use essentially the same read/write routines, but they have been modified or changed. All the disks created by any one system can be read by any other system if you know the procedure. Modifying disks to make them copyprotected (unreadable) is a different technique and a different topic. The Operating Systems covered in this article all use standard DOS 3.

Creating Software for the Farm

by Dixon P. Otto from the April 1983 issue of TODAY magazine “I had no intention of doing anything with computers again,” says Neale Bartter of Wooster, Ohio, reflecting on the time in 1974 when he gave up a computer career for farming. “Now I spend most of my time in here with the computer,” he says from the office of his turn-of-the-century home. He nodded towards the micro sitting on the desk next to him.

DEC PC Alumnus Beefs Up Franklin for Possible IBM-Compatible Portable

by David A. Bright from the July 1983 issue of Mini-Micro Systems magazine Franklin Computer Corp., once considered just another Apple Computer Inc. clone, is being closely monitored by the personal computer industry as it begins to move away from Apple’s shadow. With the hiring last spring of several key research and development personnel, Franklin has indicated that it intends to become a major independent personal computer supplier. Franklin’s first big move was hiring Avram Miller, former manager of Digital Equipment Corp.

Freeware

An Optimistic Approach to Software Piracy By Charles Bowen and J. Stewart Schneider from the January/February 1983 issue of TODAY magazine Fellow man. It’s the kind of faith that, if contagious, could spawn a whole new kind of marketing in the microcomputer community. At a time when major software houses are spending tens of thousands of dollars in what some say is a futile effort to protect their programs against pirates, a man named Andrew Fluegelman gives his programs away.

OS-9: A Structured Operating System

by Mark G. Boyd from the June 1983 issue of Micro magazine When something new comes along most of us tend to be conservative about giving up the familiar. A good example of this behavior is the use of structured programming languages on microcomputers. Languages like Pascal have been available to us for a couple of years; they are easier to program in and more efficient than BASIC. However, only a relative minority of microcomputer users have switched to a structured language, and none of the major manufacturers offer anything other than BASIC as standard equipment.

Pizza Parlor Computing

by Francine Sevel from the July 1983 issue of TODAY magazine Just the right touch of entertainment is often as much a part of a restaurant’s charm as that secret recipe handed down from generation to generation. And, as time and technology have revolutionized every aspect of society, restaurants have had to keep pace. Even pizza parlors have not escaped the wheels of motion. Today’s number one pizza chain not only has a full array of pizza selections: double cheese, thick vs.