February 1984 — Vol 6 No 2
Source
Open original PDF • February 1984 • Vol 6 No 2 • 68 pages • $2
Overview
★ THE MACINTOSH LAUNCH ISSUE. Three Mac feature articles open the issue: "The Macintosh: A First Look" by Tom Warrick (Thomas S. Warrick, p10), "MacSoftware: More than Fast Food" by Robert C. Platt (p14), "The Macintosh as Viewed by an Engineer" by Tom Riley (p15). Bernard Urban's "Whither Apple?" (p19) editorial takes the long view: with the Lisa already out and Mac just launched, where does Apple go? Peter E. Rosden writes the technical companion "A 68000 Bit Co-Processor" (p22) — translating Motorola 68000 architecture for Apple II users. Warrick opens with the now-famous formulation: "The Macintosh is a Lisa at an Apple ][ price. That says a great deal, and it is intended to." He predicts Mac is the odds-on favorite to win InfoWorld's 1984 Hardware of the Year award (Lisa won 1983 Software of the Year). Robert C. Platt's "Modula 2: Part II" (p26) continues. "Implementing an Expert Program" (Frederick E. Naef, p28) — early Pi AI/expert-system content. "Feeding at the Trough: PIG News" (Michael Hartman, p30) — Pi's Pascal Interest Group. "Softronics Softerm 2: A Review" (Bob Oringel, p35).
Table of contents (selected)
| Article | Author | Page |
|---|---|---|
| President's Corner | David Morganstein | 5 |
| The Macintosh: A First Look | Thomas S. Warrick | 10 |
| MacSoftware: More than Fast Food | Robert C. Platt | 14 |
| The Macintosh as Viewed by an Engineer | Tom Riley | 15 |
| Whither Apple? | Bernie Urban | 19 |
| A 68000 Bit Co-Processor | Peter E. Rosden | 22 |
| 1001 Binary Tales | Raymond Hobbs | 24 |
| Modula 2: Part II | Robert C. Platt | 26 |
| Implementing an Expert Program | Frederick E. Naef | 28 |
| Feeding at the Trough: PIG News | Michael Hartman | 30 |
| Telecomm SIG News | George V. Kinal | 34 |
| Softronics Softerm 2: A Review | Bob Oringel | 35 |
| Phone List Printer | J. Tom DeMay Jr. | 36 |
| EDSIG News | Peter Combes | 38 |
| LogoSIG News | Nancy C. Strange | 39 |
| Softviews | David Morganstein | 42 |
| Undeleting a File | Rudie Slaughter | 44 |
| Tax Preparation with Computers | Roy Rosfeld | 48 |
| Game Controller Tests | Rudie Slaughter | 53 |
| Ultima II Tips | Nicholas G. Carter | 56 |
| Winter Disk Roundup contd | Robert C. Platt | 58 |
Highlights
The Macintosh: A First Look — Tom Warrick
Warrick's opening line — "The Macintosh is a Lisa at an Apple ][ price" — does most of the work. He details the three-part hardware (main unit with monitor + 3.5" drive, detachable keyboard, mouse), the small footprint (13.5×9.7×10.9"), and devotes most of the article to the new operating system idioms. Canonical Pi documentation of the Mac's launch state.
Whither Apple? — Bernard Urban
Urban's editorial wrestles with what Apple's two-track Lisa+Mac strategy means for Apple ][ owners. The piece sets up Pi's ambivalent 1984 stance: many members were Apple ][ loyalists watching Apple pivot away.
MacSoftware: More than Fast Food — Robert C. Platt
Platt's complement to Warrick: a survey of Mac launch-day software — MacWrite, MacPaint, Microsoft Multiplan for Mac, and what was promised but not yet shipped.
Entities
People: David Morganstein, Tom Warrick, Robert C. Platt, Tom Riley, Bernard Urban, Peter E. Rosden, Raymond Hobbs, Frederick E. Naef, Michael Hartman, George V. Kinal, Bob Oringel, J. Tom DeMay Jr., Peter Combes, Nancy C. Strange, Rudie Slaughter, Bruce F. Field, Roy Rosfeld, Nicholas G. Carter, Peter Trinder, Michael Plett, Cara Cira Topics: Macintosh Launch 1984, 68000 Architecture, Modula 2, Mac vs Apple II, Expert Systems References: Macintosh, MacWrite, MacPaint, Microsoft Multiplan, Softronics Softerm 2, Ultima II
Connections to other issues
- Pi's central Mac-launch issue; follows the Jan 28 Wozniak/Mac unveiling reported in 1984-01 — V06 N01 and recapped in 1984-04 — V06 N04
- "Macintosh as Viewed by an Engineer" ties to Tom Riley's broader hardware coverage
- Modula 2 Pt II continues from 1984-01 — V06 N01; Pt III in 1984-03 — V06 N03
- Whither Apple? sets the rhetorical question the rest of 1984 answers (Apple //c launches in 1984-06 — V06 N06)