August 1983 — Vol 5 No 8
Source
Open original PDF • August 1983 • Vol 5 No 8 • 56 pages • $2
Overview
David Morganstein continues as President. Cover hooks (six): Home Financing Analysis, VisiCalc Leave Chart, Apple II ↔ IBM PC, Selling Your Computer + Tax Consequences (an early personal-tax/depreciation angle on home computers). The (Semi) Incredible Jack (Leslie Shriner & Bob Shriner, 23) reviews the integrated office suite. Microcomputers and Medicine (Eleanor M. Pomeroy, 33) — early healthcare-computing piece. VisiColumn: VisiCalc n' Stuff (Leon H. Raesly, 36) launches Raesly's recurring VisiCalc franchise. JSR $FF58: A Quick Return (David Morganstein, 16) — assembly tutorial. EDSIG News (Peter Combes, 18). ScreenWriter Hotline (Peter Combes, 35) continues. "Literary Machines": A Review (Robert C. Platt, 46) — review of Ted Nelson's hypertext manifesto, a striking inclusion for August 1983. Apple II ↔ IBM PC (George Kinal, 42). A Page from the Stack (Robert C. Platt, 12) — Platt's regular Pascal column. Q & A (Bruce F. Field, 14). Bottom Line (Leon H. Raesly, 35). VisiCalc Personal Checkbook (Leon H. Raesly, 38).
Table of contents (selected)
| Article | Author | Page |
|---|---|---|
| President's Corner | David Morganstein | 4 |
| Apple Teas | — | 6 |
| VisiCalc Leave Chart | Alexander Barnes | 7 |
| Apple Pascal (Express) Root | John Stokes | 8 |
| A Page from the Stack | Robert C. Platt | 12 |
| Q & A | Bruce F. Field | 14 |
| JSR $FF58: A Quick Return | David Morganstein | 16 |
| EDSIG News | Peter Combes | 18 |
| Home Financing Analysis | Richard A. Guida | 20 |
| Public Computer Interest Assn. | Robert C. Platt | 22 |
| The (Semi) Incredible Jack | Leslie & Bob Shriner | 23 |
| Softviews | David Morganstein | 25 |
| Flavors: Little Tidbits | Burton S. Chambers III | 28 |
| Beginner's Guide to Shape Tables | Robert C. Platt | 32 |
| Microcomputers and Medicine | Eleanor M. Pomeroy | 33 |
| Prowriter Super- and Subscripts | Steve Wildstrom | 34 |
| ScreenWriter Hotline | Peter Combes | 35 |
| VisiColumn: VisiCalc n' Stuff | Leon H. Raesly | 36 |
| VisiCalc Personal Checkbook | Leon H. Raesly | 38 |
| Apple II ↔ IBM PC | George Kinal | 42 |
| Selling Your Computer (Tax Consequences) | Richard J. O'Connor | 44 |
| Master Catalog and the NEC 8023 | Rick Jones | 45 |
| "Literary Machines": A Review | Robert C. Platt | 46 |
| Peace and Quiet: A Mod | Sam Swersky | 47 |
| Apple Tech Notes | Ed Schenker | 49 |
Highlights
"Literary Machines": A Review — Robert C. Platt
Platt reviews Ted Nelson's hypertext book — an early Pi notice of Hypertext / Project Xanadu thinking, eleven years before HyperCard reached its peak at Pi.
Selling Your Computer / Tax Consequences — Richard J. O'Connor
First Pi piece treating the personal computer as a depreciable asset — a sign Apples were now expensive enough to bother accountants.
VisiColumn launches — Leon H. Raesly
Raesly begins his long-running VisiCalc column franchise that continues through the mid-1980s.
Entities
People: David Morganstein, Robert C. Platt, Bruce F. Field, Peter Combes, Leon H. Raesly, Leslie Shriner, Bob Shriner, Eleanor M. Pomeroy, Burton S. Chambers III, Steve Wildstrom, Alexander Barnes, John Stokes, Richard A. Guida, George Kinal, Richard J. O'Connor, Rick Jones, Sam Swersky, Ed Schenker Topics: Hypertext, Apple II vs IBM PC, Tax Treatment of Computers References: Literary Machines, Jack (Business Solutions), VisiCalc, ScreenWriter II
Connections to other issues
- Closes part of the 1983 mid-year gap (Aug-Dec 1983 stubs were unfilled until 2026-05-27)
- Continues Peter Combes ScreenWriter Hotline begun in earlier issues
- Predecessor to Pi's later HyperCard coverage — first mention of Ted Nelson's hypertext