PC Magazine (August 20th, 1985)

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(Edited)


Cover of the August 20th, 1985 issue of PC Magazine


Next to PC World, PC Magazine was probably the most popular PC magazine of the 1980s and 1990s though it didn't hang on quite as long. The August 20th, 1985 issue includes:

Cover Story/Features

  • Word Processing: The Latest Word - A comparison of 18 word processors including WordStar Professional, Wordstar 2000, XyWrite II Plus, Word Perfect, Volkswriter Deluxe, Display Write and Display Write 3, Easy Writer II System, SuperWriter, Perfect Writer, Microsoft Word, MultiMate, Samna Word III, OfficeWriter, Textra, Spellbinder, Personal QWERTY, and PFS: Write. While Word destroyed most of these, at least Word Perfect is still around.

  • Software: Lexical Electronic Filing - A look at word oriented database managers designed to replace paper filing systems. A couple of software packages looked at here include ZyINDEX and OCRS.

  • 3-D Reconstruction: Seeing Beyond the Surface - A look at some of the uses of 3D visualization and the software that makes it possible. In this case, the software is called PC3D.

  • A Footnote to Word Processing - A look at software that combines support for footnotes and indexing with WYSIWYG editing. There is a review of three different word processors here including WordPerfect 4.0, XyWrite II-Plus, and WordStar 2000 Plus.

  • Gateway Software to the Information Stars - A look at gateway software that makes searching online databases simpler. These include Sci-Mate Universal Online Searcher, PC/NET-LINK, Searchmaster, and In-Search. They all assist with searching a different combination of online databases.


Table of Contents from the August 20th, 1985 issue of PC Magazine



Table of Contents from the August 20th, 1985 issue of PC Magazine (continued)


Columns/Departments

  • PC News - Windows (1.0) is ready for release; IBM announces workstations based on IBM AT; Panasonic introduces portable IBM PC compatible featuring 256K RAM, two floppy drives, 8087-2 coprocessor, and more for $2795; new memory expansion boards from Quadram and AST; 10MB hardcard; and more.

  • From the Editor's Screen: Waiting for WYSIWYG - An editorial on WYSIWYG word processors and how they aren't quite perfect yet.

  • Letters to PC - Letters from readers about software piracy, using multiple serial devices with one PC, making macros, and more.

  • The Norton Chronicles: Software Makes the PC - The importance of software in the value of a PC. A look at some of Peter Norton's favorite software including Framework, Lotus 1-2-3, DOS PATH, PFS: Write, MultiMate, Word, SideKick and more.

  • Quantum Leap: The Gigabyte Age - Of course we've moved well past gigabytes at this point... A look at CD-ROM technology.

  • New on the Market - The Merchandiser, a software package that combines point-of-sales, inventory control, and mailing list management; Peak Performance:Run, software for scheduling personal training; Life/Time Manager, software for managing your time; SongWright III, a PC based music processor; PC Commander, a DOS shell for navigating via menus; and much more.

  • PC Tutor - Questions answered about the differences between different iterations of the IBM PC, interrupts and BASIC, monitor noise, and more.


Back cover of the August 20th, 1985 issue of PC Magazine


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Love seeing these old magazines, very nostalgic. I just posted about how laptops have changed since the early 2000's when they were selling for around $1K. Our family just bought a new laptop for $200 and it's not bad! !BBH

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