Ahoy! (August 1984)

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(Edited)


Cover of the August 1984 issue of Ahoy!

Ahoy! was one of several dedicated to Commodore computers in the 1980s. In 1984, the Commodore 64 was very popular and the VIC-20 was still hanging on.

The August 1984 issue of Ahoy! (issue number 8) included the following:

Departments

  • A View from the Bridge - An overview of the contents of this issue.

  • Scuttlebutt - News about the continuing management exodus at Commodore that started with Jack Tramiel in January; new Commodore compatible Sakata SC-100 monitor; new graphics programs including Flying Colors and Flexidraw 3.0; new word processors including Word Writer, Wordsmith 64, Quickwriter II and C64 Type Right; new education programs including Square pairs, Turtle Tracks, Bannercatch, Spelldiver, and more; new games including Spy vs. Spy (C64), Hot Wheels (C64), G.I. Joe (C64), Barbie (C64), Ankh (C64), Jet Boot Jack (C64), Mychess II (C64), Polar Pierre (C64), Video Vermin (VIC-20), Forbidden Forest (C64), Caverns of Khafka (C64), Aztec Challenge (C64, VIC-20), Spider Invasion (C64, VIC-20), and Slinky (C64, VIC-20); new "science simulations" including Project: Space Station (C64), Life Force (C64), Ocean Quest (C64), Cel Defense (C64), Reflections (C64), and Calmpute (C64); new Okidata Okimate 10 printer; and more.

  • Reviews
    • Paint Magic - A paint program for the C64.
    • Pitstop - Classic racing game for the C64 kind of like Pole Position but expanded with pit stops and more.
    • The Heist - A game in which the object is to steal all the objects from a museum. Looks like it plays like a cross between Impossible Mission and Pitfall.
    • Math SAT I - Designed to prepare students for the math portion of the SAT.
    • Word Processor, Professional Version - Word processor with a rather generic name.
    • Ultrabasic 64 - An enhanced BASIC for the Commodore 64.
    • CIE IEEE-488 Interface - An IEEE-488 interface for the C64. Useful for interfacing certain disk drives and other things.
    • Edumate Light Pen - Once upon a time, light pens were all the rage.

  • Commodares - Small programming challenges to find a certain character on the screen, calculate letter frequency and more.


  • Table of Contents from the August 1984 issue of Ahoy!

    Features

    • Editorial - Buying technology (specifically computers) in a swiftly moving market.

    • In Search of a Word Processor - An overview and comparison of the various word processors on the market at the time for the Commodore 64. Software covered includes 3+1, The Bank Street Writer, Better Letter & Writer, Biztext 1.1, Circascript, Copy-Writer, C64 Type-Write, Cut and Paste, Heswriter, Homeword, Insta Writer, Janewrite, Magic Desk, Omniwriter, Paper Clip, Script 64-PCS, Script 64-Richvale, SM-Text 64, SuperText, Textmaster, Totl Text 2.6, Word Commander 64, Wordcraft 40, WordManager, Wordpro 3 Plus/64, Word Processor (Professional), The Word Processor-PCS, WordProcessor 64, Wordsmith, Write Now!, and The Writer's Assistant.

    • Rupert Report: Computational Wizardry - Calculating Mersenne prime numbers with a Cray-1 and determining the mega-flop rating of a Commodore 64. In BASIC it is about 184 flops or 0.0002 mega-flops. Not quite up to Cray-1 standards but then a Commodore 64 cost about $15 million less at the time.

    Programs

    • Micro-Minder - A type-in calendar program for the C64.

    • Creating Your Own Games: Words Worth - An article from Orson Scott Card on creating quality games, focusing on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.

    • Directory Assistance - A type-in program for generating hard copies of directory listings on the Commodore 64 and VIC-20.


    Back cover of the August 1984 issue of Ahoy!

    Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2017/08/01/ahoy-august-1984/



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4 comments
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This is a magazine I absolutely adored reading when I was younger. I looked forward to getting the latest issue and would scour yard sales and used book stores for older issues.

Thanks for the memories.

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I don't recall seeing Ahoy! on the shelves back in the day. As far as Commodore 64 magazines, RUN and Commodore Magazine seemed to be all I could find.

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RUN was another I loved getting. I never saw Commodore Magazine though. I grew up in Northern California and there was this one convenience store that carried many "mature" items. The owner was a big gamer so he made sure to stock tons of publications.

Looking back on it, I may have been too young to be checking that section out. Lol

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