Liverpool Software Gazette

*Liverpool Software Gazette*
	Liverpool Software Gazette - First Edition - November 1979
Publisher	Microdigital
First issue	November 1979
Final issue; Number	February 1981; 8

Liverpool Software Gazette was a short-lived computer magazine published by Microdigital Ltd, a company who were based in Liverpool, England and run by Bruce Everiss.

History

The magazine was in print for only eight issues of which the last was a double issue. Issues were bi-monthly from November 1979 to February 1981 though the last was actually dated February/April 1981. Initially costing 50p, the price increased to 75p by the fifth edition while the final double edition cost £1.50. The page count started at around 50 though by the fifth edition had reached 100 pages.

The pressure of running both Microdigital and the magazine soon took its toll on the company, and the magazine was put up for sale during the final edition. It was sold to and incorporated into an Apple magazine where all non-Apple content was immediately dropped.

The magazine was intended for an audience of sophisticated and experienced computer users and tackled a wide range of subjects from languages, machine code and CPUs, systems (both large and small), games, programming techniques, astronomy. In many cases the articles went far deeper than those normally tackled by the computer magazines of the day.

Content

There were some regular columns such as Pets Corner (for the Commodore PET), Apple Pips (for the Apple II), Nascom Notes and Nybbles (small BASIC tips and routines).

Below are some of the contents from each of the issues. Note the general term for computers back then was Microcomputers (sometimes spelt as two words). In some cases the original spelling/typos have been left intact.

Issue 1:

Sargon meets the Nascom
Programming Practices and Technics
M5 System - an Interpreter for the Nascom One
I'm Pilot, fly me
Acorn Mastermind
Pascal bytes the Apple

Issue 2:

Dungeons & Dragons Revisited
Numerical Accuracy of Microcomputers
Cesil - an introduction
Acorn and the Kim
Z-80 Processor Profile
Revas & Zeap
Application Software for Microcomputers
Trekking by 'JTK'
Byting more off your Disk

Issue 3:

AIM 65 Assembler
Graphics Shapes (Series)
Pilot Takes Off
Pascal - an Introduction (series)
Algol 68C on the Z80
Microcomputers and Biochemistry
Sharp Machine Language
Super Sort

Issue 4:

Star Gate
Jet Set
6800 Processor Profile
A Forth Introduction
A Useful Pascal Program (series)
A Marvel Called the MC6809
A Number Processor for the Acorn
Architectural Software on the Cheap
Commercial Micro Software Fundamentals
Social Effects of Micro Computers

Issue 5:

Xtal Basic - The Extendable One
Analysis of Systems Analysis
Cesil Interpreted in Basic
Algol 68
Fortran 77
Lisp
Forms Processing
Compiling Systems
The Users View of Visicalc

Issue 6 (Pascal special):

'Warning' Prolonged use of Pascal may seriously damage your mental health
Integer Pascal on the Nascom
Structured and not so Structured Programming
TCL Pascal
A Readers Contribution
Alarming Your Computer
The Romplus and Keyboard Filter
Stargate Unlocked
Tangerine Article
MPL Language

Issue 7 (CP/M special):

Microcomputer Disk Operating Systems
CP/M on the Sharp MZ-80K
Z0 Article
Graphics Software for the Apple II
Introduction to Hi Resolution Graphics on the Apple
Sharp PC 1211
Getting More From Your Genie
Micro Chips in Use Now
A Simple Machine

Issue 8/9:

Curing 'Clear' Keys
Systems Programming with High Level Languages
Macro's and Micro's
Pilot Takes Off
A Useful Romplus Programme
M.P.L. Language
Connecting the General Instruments AY-3-8910 Programmable Sound Generator to the 6502/6800 bus
Sharp Basics
Flashy Graphics
Writing Decent Basic Programmes
Microcomputer Communications for the Hobbyist
Introduction to the Main Features of Algol 68
The TRS-80's Hidden Keyboard
Apple D.O.S. 3.3

Notable articles

The article in issue number 4, "Architectural software on the cheap" was contributed by Paul Coates, then working in the School of Architecture at Liverpool Polytechnic. In the opinion of the author, this was one of the earliest examples of the serious use of cheap micros for CAD. In those days the conventional wisdom was that CAD required a much larger computer and expensive graphics hardware. The article illustrated the use of the relatively cheap combination of a PET micro and an A3 plotter for generating floor plans, shadow casting and daylight calculation. The work illustrated was funded by a small RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects) grant for teaching architecture using computers.

The article on TCL Pascal in issue 6 was by Anne Scott and John Stout.

External links