SystemTalk

Mac History 87.02 - The First Portable Macintosh

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This month, we lug the first portable Macintosh, leap aboard the hype train to Mac utopia, join the Leather Goddesses of Phobos, take SuperPaint for a spin, dress our Mac for success, and get a Lisa on the cheap.

Mac History 87.01 - Zen and the Art of the Macintosh

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This month, we marvel at Zen and the Art of the Macintosh, enter the Dungeon of Doom, seek a guru for Apple, visit Microsoft in Seattle, discover the best products of 1986, do more with MORE, put a tail on our Mac, and prep for nuclear attack.

Mac History 86.12 - Apple IIGS and PhoneNET

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This month we get colourful with the Apple IIGS, watch Apple adverts with Roger Ebert, build a network with PhoneNET, run an email server from a floppy disk, and rage against poor service from Apple dealers.

About SystemTalk

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

SystemTalk explores computer systems design. Our first series, A Macintosh History, covers the early Macintosh and draws from MacUser magazine. What was it like to own a Macintosh in the mid-eighties? How did users and developers adapt to the graphical user interface? If you’re new to the series, start at the beginning with Welcome to Macintosh (Oct ‘85). I plan to take this first Macintosh series up to April 1987 with the launch of the Macintosh II and SE.

Mac History 86.11 - Radius Full Page Display

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month we gaze at the Radius Full Page Display, hear of the fabulous 100 MHz Motorola 68040, create a blockbuster storyboard, return to labyrinthine wars, and dust off the mahjong tiles in Shanghai.

Mac History 86.10 - FullPaint and Archon

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month, the editor is missing his mouse, we check our spelling and change our desktop pattern, read reviews of Microsoft Works, FullPaint, and Archon before attempting to defuse a few bombs, or at least identify them.

Mac History 86.09 - SCSI Harder and Faster

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month is the twelfth issue of MacUser US and our twelfth SystemTalk post. Dig into the latest sexy hard drives, the indispensable Fedit Plus, outlining with MORE, and the first surgery sim. Plus another DTP supplement, another terrifying adventure game, and Oscar the Grouch.

Mac History 86.08 - Outfitting Your Office

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month, we speculate on forthcoming Apple computers, outfit a modern office, and hear of the first music program to use digitized sound. Plus, Steve Wozniak has finally graduated, Bill Gates fondly remembers the TRS-80 Model 100, and we take a two-part tour through Dracula’s home town.

Mac History 86.07 - They Sold Their Souls to the Fortune 1000

Fri, 27 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month we experience the joys of driving hard disks, flying planes, and drawing faces. We go beyond bare BASIC, begin a journey into Pascal, and fight for the soul of computing. Plus, we have a round-up of great games to play this summer.

Mac History 86.06 - Desktop Publishing Special

Sat, 23 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month we get a big helping of desktop publishing, find a worthy successor to MacPaint, review a cheap and powerful Pascal compiler, salivate over storage, and review the laws of personal computing.

Mac History 86.05 - Secrets of Word

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month we get advice on buying a Mac, learn the secrets of Microsoft Word, discover a way to bring colour to the Macintosh, try our hand at 3D modelling, and find out what Steve Jobs has been up to since departing Apple.

Mac History 86.04 - Halley’s Comet

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This month we distribute software on paper, get our creative juices flowing, write in Japanese, follow Halley’s Comet, cheat at adventure games, recreate famous battles, and build a calculator.

Mac History 86.03 - Macintosh Plus: Packed With Power

Sun, 16 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Macintosh Plus is the focus of our sixth issue. Did Apple finally get it right? We also visit COMDEX ‘86, get down to businesses with databases, play chess and MazeWars, and discover why developers are switching to C.

Mac History 86.02 - Rogue and 68K Assembler

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This month, Neil Shapiro talks slots, the Apple Hard Disk 20 arrives with HFS, and we create a function key with 68K assembler. If that wasn’t enough, we take on slime monsters in Rogue, put your Mac in touch with the world, look at free software, and find a desk designed specifically for the Mac.

Mac History 86.01 - Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This month, MacUser chooses the best products of 1985. We also play detective in Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True, find a way to cool your Mac, learn that Steve Jobs has resigned from Apple, and get insights from Andy Hertzfeld. Programmers are not forgotten, with a tasty alpha-beta soup and a comparison of BASIC, C, Pascal, and Forth.

Mac History 85.12 - Novels of the Mind

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This month we dial up, join the Mac Underground, and chat online with Vimco. We get musical with MIDI, turn a Mac into a PC, and play games with our imagination. We learn the secrets of Switcher and wonder if the AI winter is coming.

Mac History 85.11 - PageMaker and Atari ST

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This month we meet PageMaker and the Atari ST, then go shopping for hard disks. We take a MacDraw masterclass, disassemble software with MacNosy, and dive into the ROM with MS BASIC. We hear from Bill Atkinson and ask if Apple has lost its mystique.

Mac History 85.10 - Welcome to Macintosh

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The creation of the original Macintosh has been extensively studied and written about, but what happened after it launched? What was it like to own a Macintosh in the mid-eighties? I intend to tell this story of the Macintosh through the pages of MacUser.