https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/ A weekly early-1980s computer newspaper rebuilt from the historical record — games, software, hardware, prices, charts, and culture, one week at a time. en-us Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-22 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-22 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT More than 800 new Clarkson students are to collect personal computers during orientation, turning a bold campus requirement into everyday academic equipment. POTSDAM, N.Y. — More than 800 Clarkson College freshmen arriving Thursday will receive an unusual addition to the standard orientation packet: their own personal desktop computers. United Press International reported the distribution on August 24, as the college prepared to put a machine directly into the hands of every member of the incoming class. Also this week: Christmas Computer War Crowds the Aisles · Dragon's Lair Turns the Arcade into a Cartoon · Atari Clears the Deck for XL. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-15 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-15 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT At Apple's August gathering, independent programmers see faster unreleased software—but face difficult choices about how to build for the graphical machine. Apple's Lisa has made the graphical office a commercial proposition, but the machine's future now rests with people deciding what to make for it. At a week-long Independent Developers' Conference at the Dunfey Hotel in San Mateo, programmers gathered to compare methods, inspect works in progress and learn how Apple's unfamiliar visual environment might become a software market. Also this week: Computer Games Grow Up: M.U.L.E. and Suspended Lead the Summer · A $16.95 3-D Space Game Lands on Timex/Sinclair · IBM's ‘Peanut’ Rumor Keeps the Market Guessing. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-08 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-08 Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT At a week-long developers' conference, Apple works to turn Lisa's mouse-and-window interface into a platform outside programmers can build on. Apple spent this week trying to convince independent programmers that its expensive graphical computer, the Lisa, deserves their labor. At a week-long Independent Developers' Conference at the Dunfey Hotel in San Mateo, the company opened Thursday, August 11, as 'Lisa Day,' walking outside developers through the machine's unusual mouse-and-window way of working and the tools available to write for it. Also this week: Atari Erases the 1200XL and Bets on Four New Computers · Coleco's Adam Forces the Home-Computer Market to Scramble · Laserdisc Cartoon and a Colony Auction Headline the Summer Games. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-01 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-08-01 Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Ozark Softscape and Electronic Arts mix land development, arcade action, and a live commodity auction into one unusually social computer game. A new game from designer Dani Bunten and Ozark Softscape asks Atari owners to gather around one machine and build an economy together. M.U.L.E., published by Electronic Arts, supports as many as four players, with the computer taking any empty places, and makes unusually direct use of the Atari computer family's four controller ports. Also this week: Seventeen New Computers Crowd the Fall Starting Line · Atari Sweeps Away Its Old Line for Four XL Computers · C and Scientific Software Reach the Personal-Computer Desk. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-25 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-25 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A £116 British price cut puts a 64K color computer into the fiercest part of the home-micro market. Commodore has taken what Personal Computer News called a “scythe” to its British prices. Effective August 1, the recommended retail price of the Commodore 64 falls from £345 to £229, a £116 cut that moves the 64K color machine into direct contention with far less capable rivals. Also this week: Aquarius Finally Reaches Launch Day · Nintendo Brings the Arcade Home · KoalaPad Makes the Screen a Drawing Board. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-18 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-18 Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Six years after its debut, the expandable 6502 machine crosses a landmark that shows how far personal computing has moved beyond the hobby bench. Apple Computer sold its one-millionth Apple II on July 18, giving the personal-computer business a round-number milestone few could have imagined when the original machine appeared in 1977. The figure belongs to the whole Apple II family, whose color graphics, expansion slots, and accessible design carried it from enthusiasts’ rooms into schools, offices, and neighborhood computer shops. Also this week: Commodore Threatens to Halve Software Prices · Whole Earth Maps a 40,000-Program Jungle · More Memory for Less in the Home-Computer War. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-11 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-11 Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT At ¥14,800, Nintendo’s red-and-white Famicom arrives with two controllers and three arcade conversions. Nintendo launched its Family Computer in Japan on July 15, placing a compact red-and-white cartridge machine on shop counters for ¥14,800. The name was quickly shortened to Famicom, and the proposition was direct: swap a cartridge and bring the speed and familiarity of the arcade into the living room. Also this week: Sega Enters the Living Room With the SG-1000 · Electronic Arts' M.U.L.E. Turns Economics Into a Multiplayer Contest · Infocom's Suspended Puts Six Robots Between the Player and Disaster. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-04 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-07-04 Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT The summer CES sensation combines game compatibility, high-capacity tape, word processing and a daisy-wheel printer in one mass-market package. The most talked-about personal computer of the summer is not merely a keyboard in a box. Coleco’s Adam, the lead item in the July 3 Arcade Express after its Consumer Electronics Show debut, is being pitched as a complete household system: computer, keyboard, high-capacity tape storage, word processing, joysticks and a daisy-wheel printer for a promised price below $600. Also this week: The $600 System Becomes the New Battleground · Dragon’s Lair Turns the Arcade into a Cartoon Theater · Electronic Arts Gives Designers Star Billing. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-27 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-27 Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Cinematronics’ laserdisc cabinet turns Don Bluth animation into the year’s loudest coin-op, and the rest of the arcade is scrambling to keep up. Just weeks after the June Consumer Electronics Show handed the home-computer business its next big products, the arcade answered with a machine that played more like a movie than a game. Cinematronics’ Dragon’s Lair, in arcades from June 1983, drove a Pioneer laserdisc player with a joystick and a single sword button, jumping between pre-animated scenes of a knight named Dirk the Daring rescuing Princess Daphne from the dragon Singe. Also this week: Coleco Pitches Adam as the Family Computer · Atari Resets Its 8-Bit Line with the 600XL and 800XL · WarGames Makes the Modem a Summer Star · The Price War Bites the Family-Room Shelf. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-20 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-20 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A $1.5 billion industry learns packaging, promotion and hit-making. Personal-computer software is becoming a packaged-goods business. SRI International projects 1983 revenue of $1.5 billion, after $1 billion in 1982 and $600 million in 1981, and TIME counts at least 230 producers chasing annual growth near 50 percent. The machine may command the showroom, but the programs now determine what owners can actually accomplish. Also this week: Coleco's Adam Takes Aim at the Family Room · Atari Clears the Deck for Four XL Machines · Programs May Soon Travel by Telephone. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-13 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-13 Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Commodore readies roughly 70 titles, Lotus buys attention, and software makers learn the arts of packaging and promotion. Personal-computer software is becoming a mass-market business before shoppers’ eyes. SRI International estimates that Americans bought $1 billion worth of personal-computer programs in 1982 and forecasts $1.5 billion this year, growth fast enough to turn code once passed among hobbyists into a fiercely promoted consumer product. Also this week: Coleco's Adam Resets the Complete-Computer Price · Atari Sweeps the Deck for Four XL Machines · WarGames Turns Computer Anxiety into a Hit. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-06 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-06-06 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A complete computer, word processor, fast tape drive and letter-quality printer promises to turn a ColecoVision household into a home office. The busiest conversation at Chicago’s June 5–8 Consumer Electronics Show begins with an unlikely challenger. Coleco, best known for ColecoVision, has unveiled Adam: an under-$600 home-computer package built around a Z80 processor, a full-size 75-key keyboard, SmartWriter word processing, BASIC, a Digital Data Pack recorder and a daisy-wheel printer. Also this week: Atari Answers With XL Computers and a Writing System · Software Price War Breaks Out at CES · WarGames Makes the Home Modem a Movie Star. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-30 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-30 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT A young publisher treats programmers like recording artists—and ships a remarkably varied opening slate. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Ten days before this week began, the small company called Electronic Arts made its first shipment. Its May 20 slate carried five titles—Archon: The Light and the Dark, Hard Hat Mack, M.U.L.E., Worms?, and Axis Assassin—out of a warehouse and toward computer stores. The boxes announced the company’s ambition before a disk was loaded: creators’ names appeared prominently, and the packages borrowed the scale and visual confidence of record albums. Also this week: WarGames Makes Home Computing a Summer-Movie Star · Portable and 16-Bit Machines Crowd the June BYTE · Modems Bring Computer Gamers Together. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-23 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-23 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Designers turn tiny memories into puzzles, adventures, and worlds the player helps complete. A May 24 New York Times personal-computing column puts game design in the spotlight. The craft is less a matter of spectacle than of carefully chosen rules, feedback, surprise, and room for the player’s imagination. Across the month’s computer magazines, the same inventive energy appears in adventure contests, modem play, construction sets, and reviews of strategy simulations—proof that the home computer is becoming a medium, not merely a machine. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-16 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-16 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Softalk's 1983 software record puts Doug Smith's run-climb-dig game among the year's defining Apple II releases, complete with a construction set for making new levels. Broderbund's Lode Runner turns a simple chase into a toolbox: collect the gold, outwit the guards, and then design another screen. Its mix of arcade pace and player-made levels captures the spring's most exciting computer-game idea—software that lets the owner become part designer. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-09 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-09 Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT COMPUTE! gives May readers a close look at Atari's planned add-on computer for the 2600 game machine, a sign that console makers still want a bridge into home computing. The pitch is pure 1983 living room: keep the familiar VCS base, add a keyboard and computing capability, and turn game hardware into a starter machine. For families comparing cartridges, cassette software, and sub-$100 computer ads, the idea captures the week's uneasy overlap between console gaming and personal computing. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-02 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-05-02 Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Atari's Star Wars arcade machine gives the week its clearest computer-culture image: a 3-D vector trench run landing just as home computers borrow more of the arcade shelf. Trade and collector records place Atari's Star Wars arcade release in 1983, with May widely used for the cabinet's arrival. Its color-vector cockpit fantasy made a natural front-page emblem for a spring when home-computer owners were also buying arcade conversions, strategy disks, and BASIC-friendly machines from the same stores. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-04-25 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-04-25 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Video magazine coverage treats Apple II and home-computer games as part of the same conversation as Zaxxon and Turbo. In the spring 1983 game press, the wall between coin-op excitement and personal-computer software kept getting thinner. Electronic Games expanded its Arcade Alley column to cover computer gaming, reviewing Zaxxon, Turbo, and Apple II titles in the same breath. For shoppers with an Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, or VIC-20, that mattered: game disks were no longer just hobby curiosities, but a front-counter reason to compare graphics, joysticks, and disk drives. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-04-18 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-04-18 Thu, 09 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Atari/Namco racing cabinets remained a trade-paper and operator touchstone as home-computer aisles tried to borrow arcade excitement. By the week of April 18, arcade operators were still talking about the drawing power of Pole Position, the Namco racer Atari distributed in North America. Its sit-down cabinet, qualifying lap, and billboard-style track made it a showroom example of how arcade spectacle could sell a game before a player touched the wheel. For home-computer buyers, that arcade glow mattered: software shelves were filling with conversions and racing titles that promised a slice of the coin-op floor. https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-04-11 https://jez237.com/computer-chronicle/?date=1983-04-11 Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Arcade Express reported Texas Instruments wanted tighter control over TI-99/4A software, a sign that cartridge economics and home-computer publishing were colliding. The April 10 Arcade Express reached readers at the start of this Chronicle week with a sharp business-of-games lead: Texas Instruments wanted to keep control of software for the TI-99/4A. For dealers, publishers, and families watching the low-cost computer aisle, the question was not academic. A machine could be attractive on price and still be defined by who was allowed to publish for it, how cartridges reached shelves, and whether independent game makers could fill the rack quickly enough.