ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast (Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad Arnold)
Explorez tous les épisodes de ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Nov 2017 | ANTIC Interview 313 - Frank Schwartz and Richard Lewis, Virtusonics | 00:56:51 | |
Frank Schwartz and Richard Lewis, Virtusonics Last last year, I received a batch of Atari disks. One of the disks was labeled Virtuoso Play Mode Sampler — a music demonstration disk from Virtusonics, a company I had never heard of. Thanks to some old articles in Antic magazine, I learned a bit about the product and the company. In 1985, Nat Friedland first wrote about the Virtuoso software: "Virtuoso is such a unique new approach to musicmaking that it's not easy to describe. ... Virtuoso gives you a user-friendly method of tapping the extremely fast and powerful changes that a computer can control in every aspect of music performance. It bypasses the limits of traditional musical notation and uses an almost self-explanatory color graphic display that delivers mathematical insights into the structure of music. ... In technical terms, Virtuoso is a sound generator that produces four voices from the POKEY chip. You can make instant real-time changes in the voices in any of six parameters. Four computers running Virtuoso can be linked together to have up to 16 independent channels controlled by one Atari." Virtusonics was primarily three people: Frank Schwartz, the programmer; Joseph Lyons, the music guy; and Richard Lewis, the CEO. I have interviewed two of them. First you'll hear my February 15, 2017 interview with the programmer/R&D director Frank Schwartz. Then, you'll hear the February 10, 2017 interview with CEO Richard Lewis. I haven't been able to interview the other partner, Joseph Lyons, who is serving 24 years to life in prison. After our interview, Richard Lewis sent me an envelope of Virtusonics papers and disks. The material includes the preliminary version of Virtuoso Software, and the final release which by then was called Virtuoso Desktop Performance Studio, boxes, manuals, flyers and advertising slicks, and stock prospectuses. I scanned and digitized all of the material, which is now available at the Internet Archive. Teaser quotes: Frank Schwartz: "Change the curvature of the sine wave just via software. And that was a concept which was revolutionary in those days." Richard Lewis: "We were criticized by a lot of the top names in computers back in the '80s. As, how that this small company in an apartment in New York City come up with something that we've been working on for years and we cant do?" | |||
| 10 Jun 2017 | ANTIC Interview 284 - Art Walsh, Dynacomp and Artworx | 01:37:52 | |
Art Walsh, Dynacomp and Artworx Art Walsh was co-founder of Dynacomp, an early software publisher that created software for many platforms, including many educational and game titles for the Atari 8-bit computer. He later founder Artworx, a software publisher that produced titles including Bridge, Cranston Manor Adventure, Gwendolyn, Hazard Run, Hotel Alien, and Strip Poker. This interview took place on May 26, 2017. In it we discuss Jerry White, whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quote: "Why is bridge selling when most card players play poker? ... Doug McFarland ... blurted out ... 'I bet if we had strip poker instead of poker, it would sell. ... We all kind of said 'That's it!'" | |||
| 01 Sep 2016 | ANTIC Interview 224 - Bard Ermentrout, RAMbrandt | 00:45:55 | |
Bard Ermentrout, RAMbrandt Bard Ermentrout was the creator of the popular Atari graphics program RAMbrandt. Subtitled "The Atari Design Studio," RAMbrandt was released in 1985 by Antic software. Written in ValForth, it supported joystick, keyboard, Koala Pad, and Atari Touch Tablet for input. He also created an add-on Solid Object Module which allowed users to combine mode 9 geometric primitives to make what appeared to be 3D-shaded objects. The predecessor to RAMbrandt was a drawing program called "Paint 10" which was unreleased. This interview took place on July 25, 2016. After the interview, Bard sent me a box of floppy disks — which appears to contain the source code for RAMbrandt, some picture disks, and the object module — but so far I have not been able to read any of the disks. It doesn't look good, but I haven't given up hope yet. If you would like to see this interview as well as hear it, a video from this Skype conversation is available on YouTube and Internet Archive. "I had some crazy ideas with the Atari 800 to get more colors, one of them which worked but gave you a really bad headache." Video of this interview at Internet Archive: http://archive.org/details/BardErmentroutRAMbrandt Video of this interview at YouTube: https://youtu.be/YFU4LaVUrXA AtariMania's list of Bard's software Bard's page at University of Pittsburgh: http://www.mathematics.pitt.edu/person/g-bard-ermentrout Caramel Knowledge film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VgU6vgi8dQ Antic magazine review of Rambrandt: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n7/ProductReviews.html | |||
| 16 Jan 2021 | ANTIC Episode 74 - Name Wars | 01:26:48 | |
ANTIC Episode 74 - Name Wars In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast… Kevin (er... Kay) and Randy have a name fight and, as usual, we bring you all the Atari 8-bit news that’s fit to print. READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here What We’ve Been Up To
Recent Interviews
News
Shows
YouTube videos this month
New at GitHub
New at Archive.org
Feedback
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 18 Oct 2024 | ANTIC Interview 440 - Ed Sabo, UltraBASIC | 00:35:17 | |
Ed Sabo, UltraBASIC Ed Sabo, with the help of his dad, founded UltraBASIC, a company that produced software for Atari 8-bit computers. UltraBASIC's software for the Atari 8-bits, which was all programmed by Ed, were: Tank Math: "a tutored math exercise plus a bonus roman numeral quiz" FunSpeller: "use your own words or the fifteen word-sets included" SuperFrogs: "the 7 game arcade with over 10,000 variations” … and Track Stack: a program launcher, "stack up to 15 machine language programs on the track stack disk" Ed also created some unpublished software, including a bulletin board system and RC Total, a program to track results of radio controlled car races. The company also operated a commercial coin op route, with video games, pinball machines, jukeboxes, and so on. Ed's UltraBASIC company still exists. Today, the company specializes in transmission rebuilds, custom headers, and other repairs for classic and custom cars. This interview took place on August 8, 2023. Video version of this interview (youtube): https://youtu.be/OXcW1Pm4DQ8 Super Frogs: https://archive.org/details/super-frogs-ultra-basic/ Track Stack: https://archive.org/details/TrackStackUltraBasic/ Ultrabasic, Inc.: http://ultrabasic.net M.U.L.E. Online: https://puzzud.itch.io/mule-online FujiNet: https://fujinet.online Support Kay's interviews on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/savetz | |||
| 20 Sep 2016 | ANTIC Interview 233 - Alison Woods, Atari Graphic Designer | 00:30:48 | |
Alison Woods, Atari Graphic Designer Alison Woods was a graphic designer at Atari from 1982 to 1984. She designed the packaging for the computer versions of Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Pole Position, Robotron, Food Fight, and other products. Later, she was Vice President and Creative Director at Kidsoft, a CD-ROM based software magazine for kids. This interview took place on May 26, 2016. Teaser quotes: "I wanted to have an exploding robot on the front of the package, and that was deemed too violent." "One guy said to the other guy, 'See? I told you not to pay 'em!' I'm thinking, 'Oh my god, what am I dealing with here?'" Alison's web site: http://www.alisonwoods.com | |||
| 29 Feb 2024 | ANTIC Episode 105 - Secret Club Meeting with Andy Diller | 02:17:47 | |
ANTIC Episode 105 - Secret Club Meeting with Andy Diller In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we pull together our secret club of Atari hackers, including special guest Andy Diller, and talk FujiNet, archiving disks, VCF SoCal, VCF East, listener feedback and more in an extra-long episode. READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here Links for Items Mentioned in Show: What we’ve been up to
News
Upcoming Shows
YouTube Videos
New at Archive.org
Feedback
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| 15 Dec 2013 | ANTIC Episode 6 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Xmas & Mike Albaugh | 01:38:17 | |
In this episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit Podcast, our Holiday Gift guide (for that Atari lover in your life, even if it’s you), an interview with the man who created the Atari in-store demonstration cartridge, and reboots of two classic Atari games. Links mentioned in this episode:
Recurring Links: Atlanta Historical Computing Society New Atari books scans at archive.org
Intro: AtariMax MyIDE II Compact Flash Interface Lotharek’s SIDE 2 Compact Flash Interface Master Memory Map for the Atari 400/800 Computer Book AspeQt Atari Serial Peripheral Emulator Software Kevin’s ABBUC 2013 Contest Video on YouTube
News: M.U.L.E. Returns Review on Pocket Tactics Download Software from Silly Venture Pong Played on Philly Skyscraper Forbes Article on Nolan Bushnell Book “Finding the Next Steve Jobs” at Amazon Epyx “Summer Games” to Soviets Intellivisionaries Podcast Website
Special Topic – Christmas Recommendations: Custom Dust Cover for the Atari 400 Lost Treasures of Infocom for iPhone/iPad Atari 800 READY prompt t-shirt Best Electronics Gift Certificate Atari Joystick Art from FrameAPatent
Feedback: Best Podcast Discussion at AtariAge Atari 810 Disk Drive Promo at YouTube
Special Topic – Interview with Mike Albaugh: Mike Albaugh Complete Unedited Interview Another Interesting Interview with Mike Albaugh
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| 08 Sep 2016 | ANTIC Interview 227 - Gary Furr, AtariWriter Product Manager, Printer Drivers | 00:47:41 | |
Gary Furr, AtariWriter Product Manager, Printer Drivers Gary Furr was Product Manager for productivity software for the Atari home computer division, where his claim to fame was being the manager for the AtariWriter word processor. He also published a set of AtariWriter printer drivers, which were first published through Atari Program Exchange — the product first appeared in the fall 1983 APX catalog, with support for 10 printers — then was sold directly by Gary, and eventually grew to support about 150 printers. After Atari, he worked at Datasoft. This interview took place on August 29, 2016. "I left the meeting, went directly back to my cubicle, called the programmer, and said 'There's been a little hiccup.'" AtariWriter Designer Sells All (1997) AtariWriter Printer Drivers in the fall 1983 APX catalog | |||
| 12 Apr 2016 | ANTIC Interview 158 - John Crane, RPN Calculator Simulator | 00:46:35 | |
John Crane, RPN Calculator Simulator John Crane published one Atari program, through Atari Program Exchange: RPN Calculator Simulator. The program first appeared in the Spring 1982 APX catalog, where it was awarded second prize in the business and professional applications category. John was also one of the founders of the Bay Area Atari Users Group, and did some software evaluation for Atari Program Exchange. This interview took place on January 31, 2016. Teaser quote: "He [Steve Wozniak] introduced all of us to his demonstration about his Apple -- what would become the Apple I. I saw his demonstration and I go, 'Oh, that is very cool.'" "I had what I used to call the bash and bang test. I'd load up the program on an Atari 800 or 1200 or whatever I happend to have at the time, and as the program was running I would just start pounding on the keys at random, just taking my fists and just banging on the keyboard." | |||
| 24 Oct 2020 | ANTIC Interview 398 - Dan Noguerol (Farb): Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative | 00:52:31 | |
Dan Noguerol (Farb): Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative | |||
| 18 Apr 2016 | ANTIC Interview 161 - Edward Lehmann, Recipe Search 'N Save | 00:10:34 | |
Edward Lehmann, Recipe Search 'N Save Edward Lehmann published one Atari program through Atari Program Exchange: Recipe Search 'N Save, which first appeared in the summer 1982 APX catalog. It won third prize in the Personal Finance & Record Keeping category in that catalog. It was APX catalog number 20114, available on diskette, required 32K, and cot $22.95 This interview took place on February 2, 2016. Teaser quote: "The thing is, it didn't work all the time, that's what bugged me. I was selling a defective product." | |||
| 25 Mar 2016 | ANTIC Interview 150 - Leigh Zeitz, Epson Connection book | 00:20:16 | |
Leigh Zeitz, Epson Connection book Leigh Zeitz wrote the book The Epson Connection: Atari Edition, about using your Atari 8-bit computer with Epson printers; as well as a version of the book for the Commodore 64. This interview took place on November 8, 2015. Teaser quotes: "IBM came out and said: 'Well guess what? As of next month we're not going to be creating any more IBM PCjrs.'" "'Uh, Leigh, I probably don't even need to make this phone call, but we don’t need your book.'" Links: Epson Connection at Archive.org - https://archive.org/details/The_Epson_Connection_Atari_Edition Epson Connection at AtariArchives.org - http://www.atariarchives.org/epson/ Lee's blog - http://drzreflects.com | |||
| 12 May 2016 | ANTIC Interview 171 - Randy Glover, Jumpman | 01:24:52 | |
Randy Glover, Jumpman Randy Glover is the creator of one of the best games for the Atari computers, Jumpman, which was published by EPYX. He also created the sequel, Jumpman Junior, and programmed the swimming competition portion of Summer Games. Randy ported Jumpman to the Commodore 64 and created another C64 game, Lunar Outpost. This interview took place on May 7, 2016. I am joined on this interview by Rob McMullen, host of the Player/Missile Podcast, who has been working to reverse engineer Jumpman using the Omnivore binary editor that he created. For more background on EPYX, you might enjoy Antic’s interviews with Jon Freeman, co-founder of EPYX; and Michael Katz, the CEO of EPYX — he oversaw the development of Jumpman, Pitstop, and Summer Games. Teaser quote: "My guy ran around in this environment purely based on his collision with the environment. I like to think that made him more interesting, more spontaneous. He wasn't pretty -- he was just a little stick man -- but he ran around with a certain flair and he reacted to the environment." The Digital Antiquarian - From Automated Simulations to Epyx: http://www.filfre.net/2013/08/from-automated-simulations-to-epyx/ Jon Freeman interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-70-jon-freeman-freefall-associates Michael Katz interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-24-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-michael-katz Player/Missile podcast: http://www.playermissile.com Omnivore, the Atari 8-bit Binary Editor: http://playermissile.com/omnivore/ AtariMania's list of Randy's games: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-glover-randy_team_472_8_G.html Jumpman hacking thread on AtariAge: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/252267-jumpman-hacking/ | |||
| 15 Jun 2015 | ANTIC Interview 55 - John-Michael Battaglia | 00:26:19 | |
John-Michael Battaglia
John-Michael Battaglia worked as a copywriter at Atari for about a year from 1981 through 1982, writing manuals and box copy for Atari 2600 and 5200 video games. He wrote the manuals for Atari 5200 Football, Space Dungeon, WaterWorld, Phoenix, and Adventure. He later worked at Catalyst, Nolan Bushnell’s incubator for technology startups.
This interview took place March 2, 2015.
LINKS
Digital Press interview with John-Michael
Teaser quotes:
“Debacle, yes. Debacle is quite the right word. That was probably my proudest moment.”
“I think of my first day I probably sent e-mails to my friends saying: you’ll never believe where I am now. I’m playing video games and getting paid for it.”
“It was another one of those instances where a writer could actually have input into the game design, provided the game designer was open to that kind of feedback.” | |||
| 13 Jun 2017 | ANTIC Interview 285 - Jay Balakrishnan, HESWare | 02:16:27 | |
Jay Balakrishnan, HESWare Welcome to an interview-only episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast. My name is Randy Kindig. Jay Balakrishnan bought his first Commodore PET in 1978, which spurred him to found Human Engineered Software (HES or HESWare) in 1980. HESWare got its start on the Commodore PET but later moved into many other platforms. They developed or sold software for C64, Vic-20, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Dragon, TI-99, DOS and others. Many Llamasoft games, through an alliance with Jeff Minter, were published in the US by HESWare. For the Atari 8-bit, they published games like Pastfinder, River Raid, Decathlon, Space Shuttle, Attack of the Mutant Camels, Gridrunner. By early 1984 InfoWorld estimated that HES was tied with Broderbund as the world's tenth-largest microcomputer-software company and largest entertainment-software company. In early 1984 they made their biggest splash when they acquired the services of Leonard Nimoy as spokesman. This interview took place on November 20, 2016. Links:
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| 28 Aug 2021 | ANTIC Interview 424 - Atari at the Science Fair: Mark Knutsen, Star Cluster | 00:41:25 | |
Atari at the Science Fair: Mark Knutsen, Star Cluster This is the third in a series of interviews called "Atari at the Science Fair" where I talk with people who used Atari 8-bit computers to create projects and enter them in science fairs. Today's interview is with Mark Knutsen, who wrote a star cluster simulation in the Forth programming language for his high school science fair. I found this blurb in the July 1986 edition of the Jersey Atari Computer Group newsletter: "June meeting highlights ... Mark Knutsen showed us his Star Cluster program in Forth that won a science fair prize for him. Mark’s program demonstrates the interaction of four stars in two planes. Mark also discussed Forth in general." This interview took place on August 21, 2021. If you'd like to see our talking heads — and the visuals of his program running — a video version of this interview is available at YouTube and Internet Archive. Mark has shared his program and the source code: those links are in the show notes. This interview at YouTube Download Mark's Star Cluster program Star Cluster blurb in JACE newsletter July 1986 ValFORTH Documentation Computer Recreations - Star Clusters column in Scientific American: At JSTOR and At Internet Archive | |||
| 23 May 2018 | ANTIC Interview 343 - Youth Advisory Board: John Dickerson | 00:46:59 | |
Youth Advisory Board: John Dickerson This is the third episode in a series of interviews with the kids of Atari's Youth Advisory Board. A quick recap: In 1983, Atari formed a Youth Advisory Board, selecting 20 teenagers from around the United States to share their opinions about computers and video games, test software, and promote Atari's computers at events. The group consisted of kids aged 14 through 18, mostly regular kids, some computer geeks, and a couple of celebrities. This interview is with John Dickerson, who was one of the computer geeks. There was an article about the Youth Advisory Board in the March 1984 issue of Enter magazine, with a quote from John: "'We were an added dimension to what they already do,' says 14-year-old John Dickerson. 'Atari's problem is that they don't get close enough to the consumer. We'll bring them a lot closer. But, so far, we haven’t found out which of our decisions they really listened to.'" This interview took place on April 16, 2018. If you were a member of the Atari Youth Advisory board, I'd love to hear from you: email antic@ataripodcast.com. | |||
| 27 Oct 2024 | ANTIC Episode 111 - Is Kay Really Funny, or is it Just a Courtesy Snicker? | 00:56:30 | |
ANTIC Episode 111 - “Is Kay Really Funny, or is it Just a Courtesy Snicker?” In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We go over the ABBUC Software Contest winners, we cover PRGE, Kay accelerates his interview publishing schedule, and we ask the question: Is Kay really funny, or are Randy’s snickers simply courtesy? You decide … READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here What we’ve been up to
Recent Interviews News
Upcoming Shows
YouTube Videos
New at Archive.org
Github | |||
| 19 May 2019 | ANTIC Episode 59 - Atari Computer Roundtable 2.0 | 01:36:33 | |
In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: We have a special round table episode with Nir Dary, Darren Doyle, Roland Wassenburg, Thomas Cherryhomes joining the usual hosts of ANTIC where we discuss what everyone is up to in the Atari 8-bit world, including the latest shows (VCFSE and VCFE). It’s an Atari mega-show! READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com Links Mentioned in Show:
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 30 Jan 2016 | ANTIC Interview 123 - Steve DeFrisco, Wing War, H.E.R.O. | 00:41:16 | |
Steve Defrisco, H.E.R.O., Wing War Hello and welcome to Antic, The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast. My name is Randy Kindig. This is another in the continuing series of Atari 8-bit related interviews. This time, we talk to a former game developer for the Atari 8-bits, Mr. Steve DeFrisco. Steve worked for Imagic and Activision, working on porting such titles as H.E.R.O. (Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation) and Wing War as well as developing software for the Intellivision and Atari 2600. He also is the man doing the juggling in an Imagic video from 1983; link provided in the show notes. Teaser Quote “The next Spring, when my first game Tropical Trouble was done, was when Atari announced their big loss. So, I put kind of a kibosh on the whole being a millionaire before I was 20.” Links Steve in Imagic Video (he’s the one doing the juggling for a few seconds beginning about 1:17 in) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3x6Idp8oT0 Steve’s Web Site - http://www.stevedefrisco.com | |||
| 26 Oct 2024 | ANTIC Interview 441 - Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer | 00:35:41 | |
Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer I was adding a batch of ham radio newsletters to the Internet Archive's Digital Library of Amateur Radio And Communications, and I noticed the word "Atari" on one of the pages. In the September 2019 issue of Solid Copy, the newsletter of The CW Operators Club, Nick Kennedy had written: "Few hams who are both CW [morse code] enthusiasts and programmers of microcontrollers have been able to resist trying their hand at a keyer or two. I’ve done several in the past 30+ years, starting with one for the 6502 in an Atari 800 and on through PICs, AVRs and now...the Arduino." So I contacted Nick, amateur radio call sign WA5BDU, to find out what his Atari project was all about. First, a tiny bit of ham radio background: Morse code, that language of dots and dashes, can be sent over the radio waves using a Morse code key. Even if you know nothing about ham radio, I bet you picture a basic Morse code key: when tap the little lever, it makes an electrical connection that makes a sound. That's called a straight key. Avid Morse code enthusiasts may prefer a fancier "paddle" key: with two levers, one for short beeps and one for longer ones. A keyer is a device that is connected between the paddle key and the radio: it allows the sender to control timing of the transmitted signals, and other factors. Nick's software, WA5BDU Computer Keyer, turned his Atari computer into a keyer. He wired his Morse code paddle and his ham radio to joystick port 2. As he sent a message using his paddle, the Atari interpreted the signal, adjusted it as necessary, displayed the outgoing message on the screen, and sent the signal to the radio. Or, Nick could simply type on the Atari's keyboard to send Morse code messages, skipping the paddle key altogether. Nick sent me the keyer program and source code — as well as a packet radio terminal program that he wrote, and a tank game written by his brother. Check the show notes for links to all of those. Our interview took place on January 21, 2023. | |||
| 12 Mar 2016 | ANTIC Interview 144 - Stephen Lawrow, Mac/65 assembler | 00:49:45 | |
Stephen Lawrow, Mac/65 assembler Stephen Lawrow created the Mac/65 assembler, which was published by Optimized Systems Software. Stephen became an employee of OSS, where he also worked on the company’s enhanced BASIC products, BASIC XL and BASIC XE. This interview took place on November 1, 2015. In this interview we discuss Bill Wilkinson of OSS, whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quotes: “I got so frustrated, I couldn’t wait till I got Mac/65 mature enough where it could start assembling itself. So that’s why it has a lot of compatibilities syntactically with the Atari Assembler/Editor.” “A lot of us were not formally educated in software development. Because it just didn’t exist in the colleges at the time ... Algorithms, searching, and things like that — all that stuff happened after that.” | |||
| 11 Jan 2015 | ANTIC Interview 11 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - David Small | 02:42:57 | |
Kevin’s interview with Dave Small. Dave was half of the prolific writing and software team Dave and Sandy Small. He wrote the Outpost: Atari column in Creative Computing magazine, and the book Creative Atari. He also wrote for ANALOG, Antic, and Current Notes magazines. He was co-founder of LE Systems, a company that made disk duplicating hardware and the Integrator hard drive interface; and Gadgets By Small. He created Magic Sac and Spectre GCR, emulators that let you run Mac software on the Atari ST. He and Sandy developed a pair of Atari computer games for Boeing to be shown at trade shows, which they described in the Nightmare Mission series in Antic magazine.
LINKS
Dave's articles in Creative Computing Nightmare mission articles: The 1450XLD Is Not Dead article from Creative Computing | |||
| 22 May 2021 | ANTIC Interview 416 - Bob Evans, Capital Children's Museum administrator | 00:32:22 | |
Bob Evans, Capital Children's Museum administrator This is the fourth in our series of interviews about the Atari computers at the Capital Children's Museum. Bob Evans wore many hats at the museum: he was director of special exhibits, where he worked on the museum's exhibit on the history of human communication, which used several computers, both public-facing and behind the scenes. He was administrator of Superboots, the museum's software publishing lab -- it published the computer art program PAINT! but no other software. Bob was administrator of The Future Center, the museum's public computer lab, and administrator of the museum's summer computer camp for disadvantaged youth. This interview took place on April 22, 2021. ANTIC Interview 391 - Tracy Frey, Atari Birthday Girl | |||
| 05 Mar 2015 | ANTIC Episode 19 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Atari Hardware | 02:06:39 | |
On this episode of ANTIC the atari 8-bit podcast:
Links mentioned in this episode:
Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org the Atlanta Historical Computing Society
Assembly Lines the Complete Book by Roger Wagner Antic Magazine FBI FOIA Response ANALOG Computing FBI FOIA Response STart Magazine FBI FOIA Response Texas Instruments FBI FOIA Response Stimulating Simulations (Atari Version) by C.W. Engel Midi-Maze software at AtariMania Midi-Maze cartridge from Lance Ringquist, Video 61 & Atari Sales Midi-Mates from Bruce Carso, B&C ComputerVision Atari networking cartridge from Dan Winslow and Mark Dusko History of Personal Computing Podcast. Topic: The Atari 400/800
News Action! Code Released Discussion Atari Personal Finance Management System (1981) - complete with software, manuals Follow-up to RetroChallenge 2015/01 Functional demo of GOS graphic multi-tasking OS New “Atari Antics” newspaper - Michael Allard Issue 4 of Pro(c) available in English The source code behind microsoft basic for 6502 comes to light new season of High Score Club on AtariAge repository dedicated to reverse engineering the classic 1979 game Star Raiders
New at Archive.org https://archive.org/details/AtariStockCharting (Wade at Inverse ATASCII) https://archive.org/details/DeReAtari_Alternate_Early_Version 2,170 more screenshots - from Atari 800 Best Game Pack https://archive.org/details/AtariPascalLangaugeSystemManual https://archive.org/details/Atari_Pilot_External_Specification_Revision-E https://archive.org/details/Atari_News_Bits_Number_1 https://archive.org/details/Atari_News_Bits_Number_2 https://archive.org/details/AtariAssemblerEditorCartridgeManualErrata https://archive.org/details/AtariComputerCampsLogo https://archive.org/details/AtariChristmas1981 Stone Oakvalley Music Collection (C64 and Amiga music)
Feature Topic - Atari Hardware “In-Depth” (Brad) http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/CTIA_and_GTIA http://www.ataripreservation.org/websites/freddy.offenga/megazine/ISSUE5-PALNTSC.html http://www.retromicro.com/files/atari/8bit/antic.pdf http://www.retromicro.com/files/atari/8bit/gtia.pdf http://www.atariarchives.org/dere/chapt02.php The Atari 8-Bit FAQ by Michael Current http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_id=379120
Atari Emulation on Android (Rob at Player/Missile) episode 16 of Antic, Atari emulation on iOS by Chris Olsen Colleen emulator in the Play store
Programming Language Segment - Atari BASIC (Randy) Atari BASIC A Self Teaching Guide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_BASIC Interview with Paul Laughton for ANTIC Interview #1 Interview with Bill Wilkinson for ANTIC Interview #7
Feedback | |||
| 27 Feb 2016 | ANTIC Interview 137 - David Stoutemyer, The Soft Warehouse | 00:21:13 | |
David Stoutemyer, The Soft Warehouse David Stoutemyer was co-founder of The Soft Warehouse, a company that specialized in mathematics software for several computer platforms. The company published three programs through Atari Program Exchange. Algicalc and Polycalc first appeared in the summer 1982 APX catalog for $22.95 each. Algicalc was described as a "valuable tool for students and teachers of algebra and calculus and for professionals who want a quick way to perform operations in symbolic algebra and calculus." It won third price in the education category in that catalog. Polycalc was described as "a computational tool for performing symbolic algebra and calculus operations. It differs from ALGICALC in that POLYCALC supports polynomials that are generalized to permit fractional and negative powers of variables, and the program can use many unassigned variables, whereas ALGICALC can use only one. However, POLYCALC is essentially a polynomial system rather than a rational expression system." Their third Atari program was Calculus Demon, which was first available in the fall 1982 catalog. It also cost $22.95, and was described as "a comprehensive tool for automatically deriving symbolic partial derivatives and indefinite integrals of expressions." This interview took place on January 29, 2016. Links: Ways to implement computer algebra compactly by David Stoutemyer: http://www.sigsam.org/bulletin/articles/178/stoutemyer.pdf International Derive User Group: http://www.austromath.at/dug/ | |||
| 09 Nov 2019 | ANTIC Episode 62 - Incognito and 40 Years of Atari 8-Bits | 01:20:16 | |
In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: Kevin hobnobs with Atari celebrities at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, Brad and Randy find out they’re podcast hosts #2 and #3, respectively, and together we cover all the Atari news that’s fit to print. READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com What We’ve Been Up To
Atari News
Upcoming Shows with Atari Computers
YouTube Videos Since Last Show
New at Archive.org
Listener Feedback
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 01 Jan 2018 | ANTIC Episode 48 - Happy New Year! | 01:13:35 | |
In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: In this 2017 year-end episode, we get a surprise visit from our international correspondent, Nir Dary, we hear about Kevin’s dream find, and we unwrap our surprise Christmas gifts from Nir Dary. Nir Dary tells us about his visit to SilliVenture. (It’s a whole lot of Nir Dary!) Plus all the Atari 8-bit news that we could find. Happy New Year! READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com What We’ve Been Up To
Interview Discussion
News
YouTube videos this month
New at Archive.org
Nir’s Segment - SilliVenture 2017
Commercial
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 28 Aug 2016 | ANTIC Interview 223 - Gigi Bisson, Antic Magazine | 01:00:08 | |
Gigi Bisson, Antic Magazine Gigi Bisson was an editor at Antic Magazine, one of the two major U.S. magazines devoted to Atari 8-bit computers. She was also editor of Antic Online, the magazine's forum on the CompuServe Information Service. This interview took place on August 4, 2016. Teaser quotes: "This indecipherable stuff written by these techie guys would come in and then I would have to massage the copy and make it seem like a story." "They used to force me to play games. Again, I wasn't really a gamer; I was a writer. I remember, 'Oh, I've got to play a game. Ugh!'" | |||
| 30 Nov 2024 | ANTIC Interview 446 - Mary Eisenhart, MicroTimes magazine | 01:20:29 | |
Mary Eisenhart, MicroTimes magazine Mary Eisenhart was editor of MicroTimes magazine, a free, advertising-supported magazine that was distributed in California. The first issue was May 1984, and Mary remained at the magazine until 1998, producing more than 180 issues. MicroTimes provided interviews, computer industry news, rumors, and columns, and - of course - advertising. For most of its run, there were two editions of each issue: Northern California and Southern California. When she left MicroTimes, Mary took with her a copy or two of every issue, which years later were scanned by Internet Archive. The almost-complete collection is now online, full-text searchable, where they can be read online or downloaded. As a young teenager growing up in Southern California, I read MicroTimes whenever I could find it, usually in record stores. It was a great computer magazine, with the huge bonus that it was free. When I graduated college in Northern California, I wrote for MicroTimes as often as possible (Mary was my editor.) The $200 per article paychecks were the start of my freelance writing career. Mary and I didn't talk too much about Atari in this interview, but rest assured there was plenty of material of interest to Atari lovers in MicroTimes. For instance, issue 1 has Mary's interview with Jon Freeman and Anne Westfall, creators of Archon. A 1985 cover article features "The People Behind 'The Print Shop'" — and there was a long-running Atari ST column written by Helmi Kobler. This interview took place on November 25, 2024. [NEEDED for scanning: Volume 2 Number 12, most of Volume 3] | |||
| 10 Mar 2025 | ANTIC Episode 115 - Exhausting Games for your Atari | 01:28:05 | |
ANTIC Episode 115 In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we talk lots of contest news, Mr. Paint, a DIY Atari-themed monitor, and lots of other Atari 8-bit news. Plus, we find a book on “exhausting” Atari games! READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here Links for Items Mentioned in Show: What we’ve been up to
Recent Interviews
News
Upcoming Shows
YouTube Videos
New at Archive.org
Commercial
Feedback
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| 09 Nov 2017 | ANTIC Interview 310 - Guy Ferrante, S&S Wholesalers and Star BBS | 00:35:39 | |
Guy Ferrante, S&S Wholesalers and Star BBS Guy Ferrante worked for S&S Wholesalers, a Miami Florida-based computer mail order company, where he was in charge of creating magazine advertisements and managing the warehouse. He also ran Star BBS, a bulletin board system based in South Florida, for 11 years. This interview took place on August 25, 2017. "There's merchandise all over the place. I can't even walk in there. I'm stepping on the merchandise. ... And I said, 'Sandy, what's going on here?' He says, 'Guy, the advertisement was a success, I need you here full time.'" | |||
| 29 Mar 2016 | ANTIC Interview 152 - Art Prag: Mapware, Starware, and Astrology | 00:13:48 | |
Art Prag: Mapware, Starware, and Astrology
Art Prag, along with Harry Koons, published three programs with Atari Program Exchange: Mapware, Starware, and Astrology. Harry Koons died in 2005.
Mapware first appeared in the fall 1981 APX catalog, where it won second place in the personal interest and development category. “With the MAPWARE programs you can create a wide variety of high-resolution world maps. MAPWARE already contains 9,000 pairs of geographic coordinates for locating main land masses and islands on Earth. These maps are useful for such applications as games and simulations, tracking satellites, pointing amateur radio antennas, and teaching geography and cartography.” The program came on two disks and cost $20.95.
Starware first appeared in the spring 1982 APX catalog, on disk for $17.95. “With STARWARE you can explore the heavens by way of your Atari home computer. STARWARE displays the stars on your TV screen ... Its 900 star coordinates accurately locate all the constellations in both hemispheres.”
Astrology first appeared in the summer 1982 catalog, a program for creating astrological charts. “With ASTROLOGY, the mysteries of the zodiac, planetary positioning, natal charts, and rising signs will unfold in your very own living room.” It cost $22.95.
This interview took place on January 30, 2016. | |||
| 19 Apr 2018 | ANTIC Interview 333 - Cynde Moya, Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs | 00:46:57 | |
Cynde Moya, Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs Cynde Moya is Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs. Located in Seattle, Washington, Living Computers is a computer museum that provides hands-on experiences using computers ranging from micros to mainframes. (Last time I was there, there was a Xerox Alto, an Apple I, and yes, an Atari 400 with a number of game carts, plus big iron like a Control Data 6500 and DEC PDP-10 - all those machines and more usable by visitors.) As Collections Manager, Cynde takes care of the museum's collection, and catalogs it. This interview took place on April 9, 2018. “It's definitely not all glory when you're cleaning dead rats out of an old computer." | |||
| 01 Oct 2018 | ANTIC Episode 53 - Summer Vacation and Atari Party | 01:38:41 | |
In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: Bill Lange guest-hosts with us and tells us all about the recent Atari Party East. We talk about all the traveling and Atari things we did over the summer. Kevin throws in a mini-interview he did. And, Jeff Fulton reviews Tempest Elite Plus. Plus, all the Atari 8-bit news we could find... READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com What We’ve Been Up To
Atari News
YouTube videos since last show
Commercial
Mini-interviews
New at Archive.org
Jeff Fulton
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 23 Oct 2021 | ANTIC Interview 428 - Dave Johnson: Demon Attack, Atlantis; APX Lookahead; Atari Personal Financial Management System | 01:00:52 | |
Dave Johnson: Demon Attack, Atlantis; APX Lookahead; Personal Financial Management | |||
| 04 Sep 2017 | ANTIC Interview 300 - Lance Leventhal, Author of Assembly Language Books | 00:52:35 | |
Lance Leventhal, Author of Assembly Language Books Lance Leventhal wrote 25 computer books, spanning 1978 through 1992. His books include 6502 Assembly Language Programming, 6502 Assembly Language Subroutines, Z80 Assembly Language Programming, Z80 Assembly Language Subroutines, 6800 Assembly Language Programming, 6809 Assembly Language Programming, and Why Do You Need a Personal Computer? This interview took place on August 25, 2017. "Be careful about avoiding sidetracks. Don't go down them. There's always things you'd like to say and things you'd like to talk about. But they're not central to your topic and you've got to be brutal about not saying them." | |||
| 01 Feb 2020 | ANTIC Interview 378 - Craig Hickman, Atari Photography Software and Security System | 00:32:52 | |
Craig Hickman, Atari Photography Software and Security System | |||
| 20 Jan 2016 | ANTIC Interview 118 - Mike West, Pirate | 00:30:11 | |
Mike West, Pirate Mike West was an east coast software pirate who went by the handle “Jolly Roger.” He was — and still is — friends with Gary Walton, whom I previously interviewed. This interview took place on October 9, 2015. Teaser quotes: “The whole thing was kind of bizarre. It’s like, on one side of their moth they would scream about piracy. On the other side of their mouth they would kind of — I don’t know, promote it in some way. It was very weird.” “Piracy did not kill Atari. Atari killed Atari.” | |||
| 31 Jul 2016 | ANTIC Interview 209 - Volker Multhopp, DSEMBLER | 00:10:37 | |
Volker Multhopp, DSEMBLER Volker Multhopp wrote DSEMBLER, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange and was first available in the winter 1981 APX catalog. This interview took place on March 21, 2016. | |||
| 06 Oct 2014 | ANTIC Interview 2 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Marty Goldberg | 01:05:40 | |
Randy interviews Marty Goldberg, co-author of “Atari Inc.: Business is Fun” and Atari historian.
“Atari Inc.:Business is Fun” by Marty Goldberg and Curt Vendel at Amazon.com
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| 04 Jun 2018 | ANTIC Interview 347 - Charlie Kulas: Musical Pilot, UpN Down | 00:58:37 | |
Charlie Kulas: Musical Pilot, UpN Down Charlie Kulas published Musical Pilot, an educational game, through Atari Program Exchange. Musical Pilot first appeared in the fall 1983 APX catalog, where it was awarded third prize in the Learning category. He later worked at McT (AKA Microcomputer Technologies), a company that was contracted to program games by Sega. There he programmed the game UpN Down for the Atari 8-bit computers. This interview took place on April 20, 2018. Musical Pilot in the fall 1983 APX catalog: List of Kulas' software at AtariMania: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-kulas-charlie_team_756_8_G.html Buck Rogers source code: https://archive.org/details/BuckRogers_source Up N Down source code: https://archive.org/details/UpNDown_source McT at gdri: http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/McT How to Build a Working Digital Computer Out of Paperclips: https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2013/paperclip/ | |||
| 16 Aug 2020 | ANTIC Interview 393 - Charles Marslett, MYDOS and FastChip | 00:54:20 | |
Charles Marslett, MYDOS and FastChip Zen of Assembly Language by Michael Abrash: free eBook version; code at GitHub | |||
| 25 Jul 2018 | ANTIC Interview 355 - Norm Draper, Draper Pascal | 00:19:42 | |
Norm Draper, Draper Pascal Norm Draper was the creator of Draper Pascal, a version of the Pascal programming language for the Atari 8-bit computers. Draper Pascal started as a commercial program sold directly though advertisements in computer magazines, then later became shareware. This interview took place on July 3, 2018. "I offered club members to pay them for every bug they would find in my software. I'd pay them $3. ... There were a few. I didn't have to pay out that much money at all, really." | |||
| 27 Jul 2016 | ANTIC Interview 207 - Tom Halfhill, Compute! Magazine | 00:49:49 | |
Tom Halfhill, Compute! Magazine Tom R. Halfhill was features editor of Compute! Magazine, and was later launch editor of several other magazines from that publisher, including Compute!'s Gazette, Compute's Atari ST, and Compute!'s PC Magazine. He co-wrote the book Advanced Amiga Basic and was later editor of Game Players magazine. This interview took place on March 29, 2016. Teaser quotes: "SpeedScript was written in a couple of months by our 18-year-old, untrained programmer. ... You've got a whole staff of professional programmers, and frankly, if you can't do better than him, then you don't deserve to be in business." "There was a full page ad for ... I think it was a strip poker program. ... He got a complaint letter, Robert [Locke] did, from a school principal at an elementary school somewhere in the U.S., saying, 'We've got this magazine in our school library, we can't have strip poker in there. This is unacceptable!'" Tom's web site: http://www.halfhill.com Some of Tom's articles in Compute! The Basics Of Atari Graphics in Compute!'s First Book of Atari Graphics: http://www.atariarchives.org/c1bag/page003.php | |||
| 13 Jan 2016 | ANTIC Interview 116 - Tom Briscoe, APX Software Evaluator | 00:18:23 | |
Tom Briscoe, APX Software Evaluator Tom Briscoe worked at Atari as an intern in the summer of 1981, where he evaluated the user-written software that had been submitted to Atari Program Exchange. This interview took place on September 26, 2015. Teaser quote: “Hangman was sort of the obvious game for people to submit, and if I recall the obvious business application was the personal finance and record keeping ... budget programs.” | |||
| 09 Oct 2015 | ANTIC Interview 87 - Leslie Wolf, Product Manager for Atari Logo and AtariLab | 00:22:44 | |
Leslie Wolf, Product Manager for Atari Logo and AtariLab
Leslie Wolf was a product manager at Atari from 1981 through 1984. She managed the design and development of educational hardware and software products such as Atari Logo software and AtariLab. In this interview, we talk about Pricilla Laws, whom I previously interviewed. This interview took place on May 15, 2015. Teaser quote: “I had gone over to my guys in the manufacturing operation and I said, ‘You know what? They don’t know you’re here. Keep working until you don’t get a paycheck anymore.’” LINKS | |||
| 05 Jan 2016 | ANTIC Interview 113 - Russ Wetmore, Preppie!, Sea Dragon, Homepak | 00:58:08 | |
Russ Wetmore: Preppie!, Sea Dragon, Homepak Russ Wetmore started at Adventure International, where he worked with Scott Adams on Savage Island Part II. He then went on to program Preppie!, Preppie! II, and Sea Dragon - all of which were published by Adventure International - and Homepak business software, which was published by Batteries Included. This interview took place on September 24, 2015, and then a little bit more on January 4, 2016. After the main interview took place, Russ sent me the source code for Preppie!, Preppie! II, and Sea Dragon, plus an demonstration disk of an unfinished Atari game called Lulu. I successfully archived all of those disks and have posted them to archive.org. I also made a YouTube video of the Lulu demo. Links are below. Links Lulu discussion and ATR download AtariMania list of Russ Wetmore software AtariAge discussion about the source code Teaser quote: “I actually only spent about 18 months writing those three games, and I probably would have done them in much sooner time, but I was 23 and lazy.” | |||
| 27 May 2015 | ANTIC Interview 49 - Curt Vendel & Marty Goldberg, Atari Historians | 01:31:52 | |
Curt Vendel & Marty Goldberg, Atari Historians
Welcome to Antic, the Atari 8-bit podcast. I’m Randy Kindig, one of the hosts of the podcast, and your host for this episode. To give you a little background on this interview and where it came from, I also host another podcast on retrocomputing called Floppy Days, where I cover various vintage computers in the order that they were introduced. I recently covered the Atari 400 & 800 computers and had asked Curt Vendel and Marty Goldberg, Atari historians, to help cover the history portion of the podcast. I used excerpts from that interview on the podcast, but only used a small portion of the interview for that. So, I thought I would air the entire interview, since it covers Atari computers, on Antic.
In this interview we discuss the history of the 400 & 800 in-depth, as well as discussing the passing of Steve Bristow, an Atari icon, the status of the Atari history books by Curt & Marty, and much more.
This interview was conducted February 25, 2015 via Skype.
Teaser Quotes:
“the whole idea was to make a more advanced Atari VCS, Atari 2600”
“when you bring a microprocessor in there, a 6507, and then you're trying to make them as intelligent a peripheral as possible, it can add to the expense”
“When Atari designed the 400/800, it really was designed as a consumer computer”
“there's an ad going around now, it's popular on Twitter, to make fun of how Atari says the computer will never become obsolete”
“they only viewed Atari as an entertainment asset”
Links:
“Atari Inc: Business is Fun" at Amazon
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| 26 Sep 2014 | ANTIC Episode 15 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Gray Chang & Jonathan Halliday | 03:08:27 | |
On this episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit PODCAST: We delve into the SIDE2 compact flash interface, look at arcade games ported to the 8-bits, discuss another new atari podcast, and interviews with Gray Chang -- author of Claim Jumper -- and Jonathan Halliday, creator of the new Atari GUI.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org
What We’ve Been Up To Atari 800 with Encore Video Productions Info Display System Covox VoiceMaster Video on YouTube
News New Atari 8-bit Podcast Inverse Atascii Mini Atari 800XL with Atari 1050 disk drive (3D printed) at MakerBot Mini Atari 800XL with Atari 1050 disk drive (3D printed) Blog Mini Atari 400 (3D printed) at MakerBot Mini Atari 400 (3D printed) Blog ABBUC 2014 Hardware contest entries SIO2BT (SIO to Bluetooth) at YouTube New keyboard interface for Atari 8-bit WUDSN Atari 8-bit cross-compiling New Cover for the 2nd Edition of Atari Inc. - Business Is Fun HTML5 version of the classic Star Raiders that runs in your browser
Bill’s Modern Segment Asteroids Emulator at AtariMania Norbert's Emulators page: Asteroids Emulator for the Atari 800XL YouTube: Asteroids emulator on the Atari 800XL Pac-Man Arcade Orders at AtariAge AtariAge Forum: "Pac-man Update for Atari 8-bit"
Software of the Month
Hardware of the Month
Website of the Month
Feedback AtariBBS ATA and ASC welcome screens AtariBBS filemenu functionality AtariBBS flatmsg board functionality
Interview - Gray Chang
Interview - Jonathan Halliday
Closing
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| 15 Dec 2019 | ANTIC Episode 63 - SillyVenture and FujiNet! | 01:35:52 | |
SillyVenture and FujiNet In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: In the tradition of bringing you the latest Atari 8-bit news, we have a couple of very special guests in this episode. First of all, Bart comes to us literally direct from the fabulous SillyVenture show to give us a rundown, and then Thomas Cherryhomes tells us all about the amazing work going on with FujiNet! READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com What We’ve Been Up To
https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product-category/atari
Guests
Interviews
Atari News
Upcoming Shows with Atari Computers
New at Archive.org
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 19 Jun 2021 | ANTIC Interview 418 - Rick Trow, Computers: Expressway to Tomorrow | 01:00:55 | |
Rick Trow, Computers: Expressway to Tomorrow This is the second interview episode about Computers: Expressway to Tomorrow. Computers: Expressway to Tomorrow was a school assembly, sponsored by Atari, that played at hundreds of middle schools and high schools throughout the United States in 1983 and 1984. In the previous interview episode, I interviewed one of the show's presenters and the filmmaker. In this episode, my interview with Rick Trow. Rick Trow was the president of Rick Trow Productions, the company that created the Computers: Expressway to Tomorrow show -- as well as more than 40 other school assemblies and other productions over the years. Mr. Trow wrote the script for the 40-minute show, which combined two synchronized films with a live actor to teach computer basics to young people. This interview took place on June 5, 2021. ANTIC Interview 417 - Computers: Expressway to Tomorrow The Career Game Rick Trow Productions Employee Newsletters 1983 "Taking the Show on the Road" in Personal Computing September 1983 Atari Brings Multimedia Computer Show To Schools in AtariAge v2n1 | |||
| 24 Nov 2019 | ANTIC Interview 375 - Bruce May, Unreleased Magic Castle Game | 00:29:33 | |
Bruce May, Unreleased Magic Castle Game | |||
| 30 Nov 2015 | ANTIC Interview 100 - Bryan Edewaard, Castle Crisis | 00:40:42 | |
Bryan Edewaard Bryan Edewaard briefly worked with Atari and with ICD. In 2004, 20 years after the 5200 was cancelled, he wrote the homebrew game "Castle Crisis" and released it on Atari Age for the 5200 and for the 400/800. Castle Crisis is a clone of the arcade game "Warlords". Bryan lives on a 300 acre farm in Costa Rica with full lodging facilities. He's planning to host classic gaming retreats in the future and welcomes inquiries from people who would like to visit the area. His user name is Bryan on AtariAge or he can be contacted at bryede@yahoo.com. I want to apologize for a couple of quality issues that I ran into with this interview. First of all, I had a cold at the time of the interview and this affected my voice. Secondly, a Costa Rican rain storm came up during the interview and while I attempted to remove the noise of the rain on the metal roof, it did affect the quality of portions of Bryan’s speech. This interview was conducted on July 11, 2015. Links Atari 5200 Super System review of the video game "Castle Crisis" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOiE9LXu7Qw Interview with Bryan on The Atari Times - http://www.ataritimes.com/index.php?ArticleIDX=432 Castle Crisis (5200) on AtariAge Store - https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=262 Castle Crisis (400/800) on AtariAge Store - https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=274 Castle Crisis (8-bit) on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsGkNe8xcQs Castle Crisis at AtariMania - http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-castle-crisis_19788.html
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| 23 Jan 2025 | ANTIC Interview 452 - Dean Garraghty, DGS Software | 00:32:27 | |
ANTIC Interview 452 - Dean Garraghty Hello, and welcome to this interview-only episode of ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit computer podcast. I’m Randy Kindig, your host for this episode. Dean Garraghty is the proprietor of DGS Software, which sold, and continues to sell, software for the Atari 8-bit computers since the 80’s. This is a very low cost, 191-disk set that includes an entire utility pack, games, issues of a disk-based newsletter, a sound and music package, an interesting programming language called Quick, and more. Dean has been an Atari enthusiast since the 80’s and has an interesting story to tell concerning his journey with the Atari 8-bit. This interview took place on April 6, 2024. Links
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| 11 Apr 2015 | ANTIC Interview 31 - William Volk, Avalon Hill/Activision | 00:49:34 | |
William Volk
William Volk wrote three Atari games for Avalon Hill: Conflict 2500, Voyager 1, and Controller. He also wrote Forth Turtle Graphics Plus, a 3-D graphics library for the Forth language that was released by Atari Program Exchange; ValGraphics for Valpar International; and Super Smart Terminal, an 80-column terminal application which -- may have been released by APX? He later went on to work on Return To Zork for Activision.
This interview was conducted March 25 2015.
Teaser quotes:
“True story, when we did Conflict 2500, we had no documentation, so we literally started poking addresses to find out how to do things. Literally.”
“It sounded like a good deal but I was still in grad school so I said, ‘I would only do that if you paid me X,’ where X was for the time was some ridiculous amount of money. And they said ‘Sure, we’ll pay you that much.’”
“It looked terrible. It looked annoying as hell but it was funny because it made you think you were in a radar room, you know?”
“Voyager 1 was in inspired by Alien. In fact I remember taking my future wife to the premiere of Alien in Philadelphia, thinking that it was going to be like Star Wars: pretty light-hearted. I was kind of shocked. As was she! Our first movie date.”
LINKS
Obsolete Gamer interview with William Volk
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| 29 Oct 2015 | ANTIC Interview 94 - Bill Hogue, Miner 2049er | 00:26:46 | |
Bill Hogue, Miner 2049er Bill Hogue was founder of Big Five Software. He was programmer of the hit 1982 game Miner 2049er, and its sequel Bounty Bob Strikes Back!. This interview took place on August 31, 2015. Teaser quotes: “I tried to cram as much color in there as I possibly could, because it was all fresh and new to me.” “I’d forgotten how all the bank selecting and anti-piracy stuff worked that I put into it. . . so I had to spend hours, if not days, breaking my own code.” LINKS AtariMania’s list of Bill’s games Interview with Bill at trs-80.org Electronic Games Magazine 1983 interview with Bill Creative Computing's review of 2049er
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| 19 Aug 2015 | ANTIC Interview 72 - Ed Rotberg, Rotberg Synthesizer | 00:35:59 | |
Ed Rotberg, Rotberg Synthesizer
Ed Rotberg worked programmer in Atari’s coin-op division, where he worked on Atari Baseball, Battlezone, Blasteroids, Hard Drivin’, and other coin-op games. He consulted for the Atari consumer side, where he created demos for the Atari 800 — including working on the music for the in-store demo — and the Rotberg Synthesizer music software.
Check the show notes atAtariPodcast.com for downloads of the Rotberg Synthesizer and Rotberg Scrolling Marquee software (which I acquired and uploaded toarchive.org after this interview took place.)
This interview took place April 28, 2015.
Teaser quote:
“My good friend Dan Pliskin wrote a tune called Disco Dirge that we programmed into the earliest version of the Rotberg Synthesizer to play at the bachelor party, as kind of a joke. Because Chris who was getting married was a disco fan, he was a disco buff and we all *hated* disco.”
Links:
Rotberg’s sound article in Antic magazine
Version of the same article in Softside
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| 20 Nov 2015 | ANTIC Interview 97 - Brad Fuller, Composer | 00:33:38 | |
Brad Fuller, Composer Brad Fuller started at Atari as audio engineer in the home computer division, where he composed music and sounds for Superman, Donkey Kong, E.T., Robotron, and other games. Then, in the coin-op division he composed music and sounds for Marble Madness, Klax, S.T.U.N. Runner, Rolling Thunder, Paperboy, Xybots, Blasteroids, 720°, and many other arcade games. This interview took place September 2, 2015. Teaser quotes: “You know, you’d map out: OK, we’re going to start developing in September ... then maybe we can play test and beta. And over here, two years from now, it’ll be fun. This is when it’ll be fun. Well, you can’t plan that.” Links: Brad’s web site: http://www.bradfuller.com/about.html | |||
| 02 Apr 2017 | ANTIC Interview 276 - Chris Byrne, Intern at Atari Ireland | 00:13:35 | |
Chris Byrne, Intern at Atari Ireland Chris Byrne was an intern at Atari Ireland in 1982, where he programmed a quality lot tracking system on the Atari 800, and on the IBM System/38. This interview took place on March 20, 2017. | |||
| 25 Mar 2015 | ANTIC Interview 25 - Scott Adams, Adventure International | 00:50:03 | |
Scott Adams - Adventure International
Scott Adams is probably best known for his line of text adventures for early personal computers -- including AdventureLand, Pirate Adventure, Mystery Fun House, and many others. He was also the founder of Adventure International, the company that brought Atari users myraid programs, including Preppie!, Rally Speedway, Whomper Stomper, and lots of others. The company also released countless programs for TRS-80, Commodore, Apple ][, and other platforms.
This interview took place March 16 2015.
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| 26 Nov 2016 | ANTIC Interview 256 - Bev and Bryan Wilkinson, Optimized Systems Software | 00:39:43 | |
Bev and Bryan Wilkinson, Optimized Systems Software Bev and Bryan Wilkinson were part of Optimized Systems Software, the company that brought DOS XL, Mac/65, Action!, BASIC XL, BASIC XE, and other products to Atari computer users. Bill Wilkinson was founder of OSS. Bev was his wife, and Bryan his son. I interviewed Bill in December, 2014, and he died in November 2015. As a small family-owned business, Bev and Bryan were involved with the day-to-day running of the company. This interview took place on September 25, 2016 in my dining room in Portland, Oregon. "And Bill would carry these tomes, books to the bathroom with him, and he'd read these books in the bathroom. I said 'Why are you doing that in the bathroom?' He said, 'It's the only room in the house that has a lock on the door.'" Photos, brochures, and art from OSS: https://archive.org/details/OptimizedSystemsSoftware Complete collection of Bill Wilkinson articles: https://archive.org/details/BillWilkinsonArticles | |||
| 24 Apr 2021 | ANTIC Interview 412 - Linda Brownstein, Atari VP Special Projects | 01:00:44 | |
Linda Brownstein, Atari VP Special Projects | |||
| 30 May 2016 | ANTIC Interview 179 - Greg Thrush and Marian Dillashaw: Stock Management and WordGo | 00:22:54 | |
Greg Thrush and Marian Dillashaw: Stock Management and WordGo Greg Thrush published two programs through Atari Program Exchange: Stock Management and — with his wife Marian Dillashaw — Wordgo. Stock Management first appeared in the fall 1982 APX catalog, where it won first prize in the business and financial applications category. Wordgo first appeared in the summer 1983 catalog. This interview took place on March 4, 2016. Teaser quote: "If nothing else, it got them a little excited about technology. They could see that they could actually make some things happen." | |||
| 22 Nov 2024 | ANTIC Interview 445 - Vince Cate, The Critical Connection | 00:31:04 | |
Vince Cate, The Critical Connection In my last interview, I talked with the creator of SIO2PC, which let Atari users use a DOS computer as its disk drive and printer. This interview is with the creator a product which - six years earlier - let Atari users use a CP/M computer as its disk drive and printer (and keyboard.) Vince Cate owned a company called USS Enterprises, with just one product: The Critical Connection. Critical Connection was a combination of a specialized cable and software for connecting an Atari 8-bit to a computer running CP/M. The long cable had an SIO plug on one end and a 25-pin serial plug on the other, and some chips in the middle, allowing the Atari and CP/M box to communicate at 19,200 bps. The Critical Connection was released in 1983, six years before SIO2PC. They shared many similar features: with it you could: use an entire CP/M floppy disk as an emulated 600K Atari disk drive, create 92KB CP/M disk files which emulated Atari 90KB disks, and print from the Atari to the CP/M computer's printer. The CP/M machine even acted as a print spooler. You could also use the CP/M machine's keyboard to type on the Atari. Vince needed to create a file format to store virtual floppy disks on the CP/M machine: the filename extension was .ATR. I don't know positively, but I'm pretty sure it's a different file format from the well-known .ATR format that Nick Kennedy created for SIO2PC six years later... just similar functionality given similar names. Nick Kennedy told me that he had never heard of The Critical Connection. Here's what Jerry Pournelle wrote about Critical Connection in the September 1983 issue of Byte magazine: "Vincent Cate continues to improve his Critical Connection. This gadget makes an Atari think a CP/M computer system is a set of disks. The only requirement is that your CP/M system have an RS-232C serial port operating at 19,200 bps. Given that, you needn't buy disks for an Atari; by using The Critical Connection, you can make the Atari believe you have four disks. The really nice part is that you can use 8-inch as well as 5 1/4 -inch disks. Cate's new software package has automatic installation for a number of CP/M systems, including Kaypro, North Star, Sanyo, CCS, Heath/Zenith, and Morrow. ... Cate's documentation is improved, but it's not what I'd call good. Still, you can puzzle it out, and if you don't want to invest a lot in an Atari system but still want to use disks with it, Cate's Critical Connection is the way to go." This interview took place on November 20, 2024. | |||
| 22 Aug 2016 | ANTIC Interview 220 - Scott Scheiman, 850 Interface, Telelink I | 01:06:07 | |
Scott Scheiman: SIO, 850 interface, Telelink I Scott Scheiman worked at Atari for about seven years, where he was part of the 400/800 design team. He worked on the computers' SIO interface, the Atari 850 interface, and the Telelink I communications cartridge. He also wrote the Educational System Master Cartridge software, for use with the Talk & Teach cassette tapes. This interview took place on July 12, 2016. Teaser quotes: "I think what happened was that all the parts were mounted on the top of the board in the computer but the board was mounted inside the console upside down, with all the parts facing down." "User of the educational system was being punished for having the wrong answer as opposed to being told 'No, try again.'" | |||
| 07 Jun 2016 | ANTIC Interview 183 - Lane Winner: Graph-It, XEP-80, De Re Atari | 00:49:48 | |
Lane Winner: Graph-It, XEP-80, De Re Atari Lane Winner was an Atari employee for about a decade: he worked in the software development support group, as a programmer, and as an engineer. He is the author of Atari's Graph-It, contributor to De Re Atari, and designer of the XEP-80 80-column peripheral. Lane wrote several early releases for Atari Program Exchange: BASIC Cross-Reference Utility, BASIC Renumber Utility, and Variable Changer. This interview took place April 20, 2016. "OK, Lane. When you get your ... head and your heart together, you can be useful, and help the company out and help other people out." | |||
| 18 Oct 2016 | ANTIC Interview 243 - Russ Walter, Secret Guide to Computers | 00:37:09 | |
Russ Walter, Secret Guide to Computers Russ Walter is the author of Secret Guide to Computers & Tricky Living, a book that he has been publishing and updating since 1972. It is currently in its 32nd edition; he's working on the 33rd now. The book has evolved with technology and time — the current versions cover modern machines like Windows, Android, and iOS. The early editions covered then-modern machines like the Atari 800, TRS-80, Commodore 64, and Apple //. In addition to the book, Russ provides a free technical support phone number, which he invites people to call at any time, day or night. (My copy of the book, from 1987, says right on the cover: "Call 24 hours: he's usually in and sleeps only lightly.") Though the phone number has changed, some 30 years later, that is still a feature that he offers. This interview took place on September 15, 2016. "The craziest call that I got was a girl, sounded like she was 7th or 8th grade or something ... wanted to know how to attract her boyfriend to her." Secret Guide web site: http://SecretFun.com | |||
| 20 Dec 2024 | ANTIC Interview 449 - Tim Boehlert, Atari's WCI Labs Division | 00:54:39 | |
Tim Boehlert, Atari's WCI Labs Division Tim Boehlert began at Atari in 1982. He worked at WCI Labs, the New York Atari subsidiary, where he worked on the broadboard of the 600XL, robotics projects, and mass storage devices. This interview took place on June 4, 2022. | |||
| 20 Aug 2016 | ANTIC Interview 219 - Kathy Forte, Atari's early applications group | 00:27:22 | |
Kathy Forte, Atari's early applications group Kathy Forte worked at Atari in the applications group for about a year beginning late 1979. She worked on an unreleased relational database application, and for a while spent half of her work time as Atari's puppeteer. This interview took place on April 27, 2016. Teaser quotes: "And it said 'What is the Atari 800?' And I saw ... 'It's game machine! It's a personal computer! It's a salami sandwich!'" "Kind of a sarcastic game. ... The helicopter would spray malathion and people would become deformed. It was really sick!" | |||
| 29 Apr 2024 | ANTIC Episode 107 - 4 Times! | 00:59:46 | |
ANTIC Episode 107 - 4 Times! In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast…we realize there are 4 times as many interview episodes as regular episodes and what that might say, Kay visits the Strong Museum, Randy attends the Indy Classic Expo, and Brad drools over a keyboard for the 400 Mini… READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here Links for Items Mentioned in Show: What we’ve been up to
News
Upcoming Shows
YouTube Videos
New at Archive.org | |||
| 22 Oct 2017 | ANTIC Interview 309 - Ben Heck, Internet celebrity and console modder | 00:29:14 | |
Ben Heck - Internet Celebrity and Console Modder Benjamin J. Heckendorn (aka Ben Heck) is an American console modder and Internet celebrity. He is the star of element14's The Ben Heck Show, a popular online TV program. It also turns out that he grew up with the Atari 8-bit line of computers and has built a couple of mods involving the Atari line. This interview took place on April 13, 2017.
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| 27 Jan 2014 | ANTIC Episode 7 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Disks & Paul Nurminen | 01:52:36 | |
On this episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit Podcast: we delve into the mystery of floppy drives, talk with Paul Nurminen about his love of Atari, and rescue adventure games off of cassette tape. Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org
atari.org Tape Preservation Project cassette discussion on atariage "CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer" by Boisy G Pitre and Bill Loguidice Vintage Computer Festival Southeast (VCFSE) 2.0 “Atari BASIC Source Book” by Bill Wilkinson “Sophistication and Simplicity, The Life and Times of the Apple II Computer” by Steven Weyhrich Paul Nurminen's Website with Atari programs
“30 Years Later, One Man Is Still Trying To Fix Video Games” article on Chris Crawford
Running the Atari800 emulator on the Raspberry Pi
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| 09 Jul 2018 | ANTIC Episode 52 - Atari Computer Roundtable | 02:19:17 | |
Atari Computer Roundtable In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: We got some of the biggest names of the current Atari computer community on a live, international conference call to ask: what’s happening in your Atari 8-bit world? Guests Thom Cherryholmes, Ethan Johnson, Joe Decuir, Simon Wells, Curt Vendel, Jeff Fulton, Nir Dary, and Roland Wassenberg. The conversation went in amazing and unexpected directions. READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com What We’ve Been Up To
Roundtable Discussion
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 01 Oct 2017 | ANTIC Episode 46 - Tinkle and Poo | 01:17:24 | |
In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: Victor Marland of the Ten Pence Arcade Podcast joins us over Kevin’s pancake breakfast, Bill Kendrick reviews Tempest Elite, and we discuss Tinkle Pit and Uncle Poo. Plus all the Atari news we could find. READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge What we’ve been up to
News
YouTube videos this month
New at Archive.org
Bill’s Modern Segment
Of the Month Commercial
Feedback
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 18 Dec 2014 | ANTIC Interview 6 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Diane Gaw, Editor ANALOG | 00:39:55 | |
Diane Gaw, Managing editor of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing
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| 15 Jan 2016 | ANTIC Interview 117 - Landon Dyer, Donkey Kong and Super Pac Man | 01:03:01 | |
Landon Dyer, Donkey Kong and Super Pac Man Landon Dyer started as a software engineer in the Atari home computer division in 1982, where he specialized in converting arcade games to the Atari 8-bits. There, he programmed the Atari 400/800 versions of Donkey Kong, and Super Pac Man — which was never officially released by Atari (but has been widely available for many years.) After the Tramiels bought Atari, he worked on the Atari ST, including BIOS boot code and the floppy disk driver. Landon’s blog, at DadHacker.com, has many interesting posts about his Atari days. This interview took place December 9, 2015. Teaser quotes: “In many ways, Atari marketing was completely divorced from the process of making games. They didn’t understand what programmers did, they didn’t understand what manufacturing cycles were.” “To get ROMs made inside of Atari you had to go through a mastering lab. So basically you’d hand a couple of guys disks. They would disappear into their lab, smoke some dope, and come out with ROMs. And often, keep the disks.” Link Landon's web site: http://www.dadhacker.com/blog/?p=987 | |||
| 23 Jan 2018 | ANTIC Interview 324 - Geoffrey Card, kid game reviewer | 00:33:44 | |
Geoffrey Card, kid game reviewer In my interview with Orson Scott Card, he mentioned that his son, Geoffrey, helped him review Atari games — thoroughly playing games, then providing a sort of executive summary for his dad, who then wrote about the games for Compute! magazine. I thought it would be fun to get Geoffrey's perspective about that time. This interview took place on January 19, 2018. Teaser quote: "One of the interesting, great things about that era was the fact that somebody could sit there in their garage and they could make something, and it really was indistinguishable from what the professionals were making." Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/r17r_AzoLrI Orson Scott Card interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-323-orson-scott-card-compute-books | |||
| 26 Jan 2018 | ANTIC Interview 325 - Hanan Samara: Jumbo Jet Pilot and Jinn Genie | 00:23:47 | |
Hanan Samara: Jumbo Jet Pilot and Jinn Genie Hanan Samara was a programmer at Thorn EMI, where her work included programming the game Jumbo Jet Pilot. Later she founded Dalali Software, a company that specialized in converting games to various computer platforms. There she created the Atari computer game Jinn Genie. This interview took place on November 13, 2017. Her husband, Chris James, can be heard in the background, and is the subject of my next interview. Teaser quote: "We just had to really learn fast. I mean really, really learn fast." | |||
| 19 Jun 2017 | ANTIC Interview 287 - George White, Founder of Koala Technologies | 00:40:51 | |
George White, Founder of Koala Technologies George White was the founder of Koala Technologies, the company that made the KoalaPad. KoalaPad was a touch tablet, versions were available for the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, Apple II, and the IBM PC. A version for the TRS-80 Color Computer was also available, sold as the TRS-80 Touch Pad. This interview took place on May 20, 2017. If you want to see George and my chat, a video version of this interview is available, check the show notes at AtariPodcast.com for that link. I also interviewed KoalaPad inventor David Thornburg, whom we talk about in this interview. David's interview will be published next. "I regret the fact that I wasn't more forceful in staying true to my original reason for starting the company which was to make mice." | |||
| 16 Sep 2016 | ANTIC Interview 231 - David Duberman, Antic magazine editor | 00:40:48 | |
David Duberman, Antic magazine editor David Duberman was an editor at Antic magazine (one of the two major Atari magazines in the United States). Later he was in customer support at Synapse software, then user group coordinator at Atari during the Tramiel era. This interview took place on June 17, 2016. In it, we discuss Jim Capparell, whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quotes: "We were now in the computer age, so we had to print these weird [ATASCII] characters that were probably never printed in a magazine before." "They [the Tramiels] would not spend a single penny that didn't absolutely have to be spent." | |||
| 06 Mar 2018 | ANTIC Interview 330 - William "Ted" Farmer, Eastern Front (1941) Scenarios | 00:36:07 | |
William "Ted" Farmer, Eastern Front (1941) Scenarios Ted Farmer created one product for the Atari 8-bit computers, with an unwieldy name: “Eastern Front (1941) Scenarios For 1942, 1943, 1944". The disk of add-on scenarios for Eastern Front 1941 first appeared in the fall 1983 APX catalog, alongside Chris Crawford's Eastern Front (1941) scenario editor, the program that Ted used to create the scenarios. This interview took place on January 27, 2018. Teaser quote: "Some time later, I got a message on my telephone answering machine, and it was from Chris [Crawford]. It was very short. He said, 'Stop working on the article, and I can't tell you why.'" | |||
| 19 May 2015 | ANTIC Interview 45 - Jason Scott, Internet Archive | 00:41:21 | |
Jason Scott, Internet Archive
Jason Scott is a digital historian and documentary filmmaker who for several years has worked for the Internet Archive, a nonprofit that has worked to save as much online - and offline - culture as possible. He is also known to attend the occasional vintage computer festival, so as luck would have it, ANTIC and Jason were in the same festival at the same time, and we interviewed him on May 2, 2015 on stage at Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 3.0.
LINKS
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| 16 Dec 2017 | ANTIC Interview 321 - Databar OSCAR | 01:09:08 | |
Databar OSCAR This is a story about the rise and fall of a compter peripheral and the company behind it. The company was Databar, and the product was called OSCAR, which was short for Optical SCAnning Reader. In 1983, it wasn't easy to get inexpensive software for your home computer. Floppy disks were expensive. Modems were slow and expensive. You could get software in magazines — a variety of computer magazines offered computer program listings that you could type in. You might spend hours laboriously typing in a program, and it might work. Or more likely, it wouldn't, because of a typo or because of errors in the published listing. It wasn't easy to get inexpensive software for your computer. One solution that a couple of companies came up with was to distribute software in books and magazines — but instead of printed listings that you'd have to type in, the programs were distributed as bar codes — long collections of black and white dots. You could use a bar code scanner to read the programs into your computer. The best known solution was, perhaps, Cauzin Softstrip. And although Softstrip may have been the best known, it was by no means a success. I've already published interviews with the people who created Softstrip. Another contender in this niche — and the one that this episode is about - was the Databar OSCAR. OSCAR was released two years before Softstrip. OSCAR had two parts — the hardware, the Optical SCAnning Reader that would connect to your Atari 8-bit computer, or your Texas Instruments 99/4A, or your Commodore 64. And, the bar code software, which was to be published in a special magazine, called Databar. First, let's talk a little about the hardware. A silver plastic device, a little smaller than a loaf of bread, was the brains of the operation. A hand-held removable wand, connected via a telephone-style coiled wire, held the optical reader. That's the part that you would roll over the bar code to read the software into your computer. Finally, there was an interface cable that connected the main device to your computer. This is the only bit of hardware that's different in the Atari, Commodore, and Texas Instruments versions of the product. The Commodore version, for instance, connects to the C64's cassette port. The Atari version also emulates a cassete tape drive, and connects to the Atari's SIO port. The hardware alone cost $79.95, but it wouldn't do much good without the bar-code printed software, which was the Databar magazine. A 1-year subscription to the Databar magazine would cost an additional $120. So let's talk about the software: the magazine. "Databar - The Monthly Bar Code Software Magazine" which was published in 1983, and turned out to only have one issue published, so it wasn't very monthly after all. Databar ran some advertisements in the Atari, Commodore, and Texas Instruments computer magazines. I'm going to read a bit from one of them. [ad excerpt] The magazine was published in three versions: one for the Atari 8-bit computer, one for the TI 99/4A, and a version for Commodore 64. The cover and front part of the magazine was the same in all editions, with general-interest articles like "Computer Gaming," "To Your Health - Your Health Is Up To You," and "Climbing the Slippery Financial Hills." The second part of the magzaine was different in each edition. This was the part with the bar codes. Each version has pretty much the same set of programs, but customized to the dialect of BASIC used on that particular computer. The selection of non-confrontational, milquetoast programs includes OSCAR's Match (a memory game), Financial Quiz, Math Challenge, Health Assessment, The Law and You, and Miles Per Gallon Calculator. Only 9 programs were ever published in this format for the Commodore and TI, and they are all in the magazine. 13 Atari programs were ever published in this format, in the Atari version of the magazine. The OSCAR box claims that the hardware is also compatible with the Timex Sinclair 1000, 1500, 2000, and the TRS-80 Color Computer. But I haven't seen any evidence that versions of the magazine were created for those systems, nor the hardware adapters to connect to them. One of the benefits of the reader was that it was supposed to be faster than typing. My favorite ad for the OSCAR reader says "Programming the Home Computer — Expert Typist with Keyboard vs. Eight-year-old with OSCAR." The task: entering a two-page BASIC program. The expert typist with a 100 word-per-minute speed and a degree in computer programming can do it in 1 hour and 9 minutes. The little girl with bows in her hair and bubble gum in her mouth, with no prior computer experience, can enter the program using OSCAR in 8 minutes. Now that we've set the stage, it's time for the interviews. There are three: first, Don Picard, the Executive Editor of Databar magazine; then Kim Garretson, the publisher of the magazine; and finally Neal Enzenauer, the principal engineer for OSCAR. ## interview 1: Don Picard Don Picard worked for Webb Publishing, a large printing company that owned a number of magazines. Don worked in a division called Creative Communications, that was a custom publishing house for corporate clients. The division did work such as in-flight magazines for airlines, and custom magazines for Farmer's Insurance and the American Automobile Association. He was the Executive Editor of Databar magazine. Teaser quotes: "Concept was basically dead before it got born." "When money's invested there becomes a sort of momentum involved. Nobody wants to say, 'This was a mistake.'" ## interview 2: Kim Garretson The next interview is Kim Garretson, the founding editor and publisher of Databar magazine. Teaser quote: "Sometimes you had to go across a single line of code three or four or five or seven times to hear the little beep." ## interview 3: Neal Enzenauer Our final interview is with Neal Enzenauer, the principal engineer for OSCAR. Teaser quote: "We thought we were going to set the world on fire and make magnetic media obsolete — but I guess we didn't." ## closing Thanks to Don Picard, Kim Garretson, and Neal Enzenauer. Thanks to Allan Bushman for scanning the Atari version of the Databar magazine and OSCAR instructions; @doegox on Twitter for writing the python script to decode the barcodes without the scanner, @paulrickards for wrangling the Commodore software, and @travisgoodspeed for the PoC||GTFO 'zine, which was instrumental in bringing the pieces together. Thanks to the Internet Archive for hosting scans of the magazines and all the software. The interview with Don Picard took place on April 5, 2016. The interview with Kim Garretson took place on June 27, 2016. (A video version of that interview is available, including an extended version where we also discuss CD-ROM publishing and the Prodigy online service.) The interview with Neal Enzenauer took place on April 12, 2016. | |||
| 05 Feb 2017 | ANTIC Interview 270 - Ed Kelly, Edladdin Controllers | 00:43:48 | |
Ed Kelly, Edladdin Hello, welcome to a special interview-only episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit podcast. My name is Randy Kindig. This interview is with Ed Kelly of Edladdin. Edladdin produces a fantastic family of controllers for the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari Flashback, and classic 8-bit computers. I met Ed at VCF Southeast in 2016 and was so impressed by his controllers that I later bought one and am very happy with it. They are fully customizable and are very rugged. This is likely the last controller you’ll need. I sat down with Ed and we discussed how his company got started, what controllers they produce and what the future looks like. This interview took place on December 4, 2016. Links: | |||
| 07 May 2018 | ANTIC Interview 338 - Jack Smyth, The Learning Company and Add-On Software | 00:37:37 | |
Jack Smyth, The Learning Company and Add-On Software Jack Smyth was the first CEO of The Learning Company, the educational software publisher best known for Reader Rabbit and Rocky's Boots. He was also involved with Add-On Software, a company that sold CP/M software for several computer platforms, including the Atari 8-bit line. The company built a hardware card, for use with the Atari 1090XL peripheral expansion box, that would have added CP/M functionality to Atari computers. That device was never sold, or at least was not widely available. This interview took place on March 8, 2018. After the interview, Jack sent me anl Add-On Software CP/M catalog (primarily focused on the Apple II) which I have scanned and uploaded to Internet Archive. Teaser quote: "I took my 5-year-old daughter with me to see how my daughter liked the software. ... Well my daughter loved it, and so I bought the company." | |||
| 27 Nov 2017 | ANTIC Interview 315 - Sarah Haskell, Computerized Weaving | 00:33:27 | |
Sarah Haskell, Computerized Weaving There's a column in the November 1983 issue of Family Computing magazine, by Jon Zonderman: "Home Business — Compute, Control, and Create. A weaver combines the traditional skills of her craft with a computer and reaps more than one reward." The article is about Sarah Haskell, a weaver who used an Atari computer to design patterns for weaving, and also to computer-control her loom. [Excerpts from the article.] My interview with Sarah took place on November 13, 2017. Teaser quote: "But with the electronic system, you did not have to get down on the floor and physically re-configure all of the treadles with these little metal hook things. You would basically just change it." | |||
| 25 Dec 2015 | ANTIC Interview 108 - Tony Nicholson & John Babinchak II, Hi-Res Magazine | 00:31:18 | |
Tony Nicholson and John Babinchak II, Hi-Res Magazine In this episode, two interviews for the price of one: two people who helped create Hi-Res Magazine — the computer magazine that only published four issues. First, we’ll hear from Tony Nicholson, the publisher of Hi-Res magazine; then John Babinchak, the editor of the magazine. Hi-Res was a short-lived magazine dedicated to Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 computers. It was published from late 1983 to early 1984. Although they didn’t publish months on the cover, I believe the first issue would have have a cover date of November 1983. Subsequent issues would have been January 1984, March 1984, and the final issue was May 1984. Hi-Res came to the Atari magazine party late in the game, fighting against magazines with established advertiser and subscriber bases. A.N.A.L.O.G. magazine started in January 1981, and ANTIC magazine’s first issue was April 1982. Creative Computing was starting its tenth year around that time. You can read all four issues of Hi-Res at www.atarimagazines.com/hi-res/. The interview with Tony took place September 24, 2015, the interview with John on September 29. LINKS Hi-Res at AtariMagazines.com: www.atarimagazines.com/hi-res/. Hi-Res at archive.org: https://archive.org/details/@savetz?and[]=hi-res%20magazine | |||
| 09 Dec 2020 | ANTIC Episode 73 - Randys Personality Board | 01:08:02 | |
ANTIC Episode 73 - Randy’s Personality Board In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast… we have a ton of Christmas gift ideas for that Atari nerd in your life (even if that nerd is you); we find out Randy has a broken personality board; and we bring you the Atari 8-bit news to fill out your life. READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here What We’ve Been Up To Recent Interviews
News
Shows
Christmas Gift Ideas
YouTube videos this month
New at GitHub
New at Archive.org
Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender. | |||
| 29 Dec 2014 | ANTIC Interview 8 - The Atari 8-bit Podcast - Bruce Carso, B&C ComputerVisions | 00:54:49 | |
Hello, welcome to a special interview-only episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit podcast. This interview is part of the ongoing set of interviews for the holiday season where I talk to many of the people still out there providing hardware, software, and/or support for our favorite computer. This interview is with Bruce Carso, of B&C ComputerVisions. As you will hear during the interview, Bruce has been in the Atari business for 34 years as of the recording of this episode and has many amazing stories to share. Bruce not only has a website where he sells hardware, software and service, but he also has a store on ebay. I hope you find this interview interesting and let Bruce know that you appreciate all he has done and continues to do for the Atari community.
Links:
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| 30 Oct 2023 | ANTIC Episode 102 - Randy, You Used to be a Nice Guy! | 01:50:24 | |
ANTIC Episode 102 - Randy, You Used to be a Nice Guy! In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… All the Atari 8-bit news for this month, Kay breaks his Atari mug, Brad impersonates Kay, Kay decides to start up a cable company, and Randy changes in retirement … READY! Recurring Links New Atari books scans at archive.org Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here Links for Items Mentioned in Show: What we’ve been up to
Interviews
News
Upcoming Shows (Remaining in 2023 and first half of 2024)
YouTube Videos
New at Archive.org
Feedback
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| 18 Feb 2025 | ANTIC Interview 453 - Giann Velasquez, Atariteca | 00:31:13 | |
ANTIC Interview 453 - Giann Velasquez, Atariteca Hello, and welcome to this interview-only episode of ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit computer podcast. I’m Randy Kindig, your host for this episode. Giann Velasquez is the owner and curator of the popular, Spanish-language, Atari 8-bit news site, Atariteca. Giann is a consummate Atari 8-bit fan and lives in Lima, Peru. This interview took place on June 30, 2024. Links
Blog about Atari 8-bit computers. News, guides and analysis on emulators, games and programs for Atari XL/XE series computers.
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| 28 Sep 2015 | ANTIC Interview 84 - John Schulte and Feridoon Moinian, Dorsett Educational Systems | 01:27:50 | |
John Schulte and Feridoon Moinian, Dorsett Educational Systems John Schulte and Feridoon Moinian were both employees at Dorsett Educational Systems, the company that created the Talk And Teach educational cassette tapes which were sold by Atari. Dorsett also sold many more cassette-based classes directly via mail order, for the Atari, TRS-80 Color Computer, and other platforms. Feridoon worked primarily as a programmer, and John was primarily an editor. As my co-interviewer for this discussion, I invited Thomas Cherryhomes, an expert in the technical aspects of the Talk and Teach system. I interviewed Thomas previously on this podcast, in ANTIC interview 57. Nearly every educational cassette tape that Dorsett released for the Atari has been digitized, they’ll all available at Archive.org, there’s a link in the show notes at AtariPodcast.com. This interview took place on June 25, 2015. Teaser quote: “He [Loyd Dorsett] would tell them, “Shall we go have lunch now?’ Yes. ‘OK, let’s go downstairs and we’ll have some lunch.’ He’d take them downstairs, and on top of the little five-foot refrigerator was a Styrofoam cup that had 10 Cents written on it. That was 10 cents that you’d do on the honor system to buy a packet of Cup of Soup. ... This is the way he would entertain people because you were stuck out in the middle of nowhere, it was 20 minutes to get to a restaurant. But he would actually pull coins out of his pocket and say ‘My treat.’” LINKS Interview with Thomas Cherryhomes Dorsett Educational Cassette Tape Archive
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| 02 Jan 2017 | ANTIC Interview 260 - Ben Smith, Atari sales and service | 00:41:18 | |
Ben Smith, Atari sales and service This interview is part of the set of interviews we’ve done where we talk to many of the people still out there providing hardware, software, and/or support for our favorite computer. This interview is with Ben Smith, of Bravo Sierra Computers. As you will hear during the interview, Ben has been in the business of selling, servicing and supporting Atari items for about 32 years as of the recording of this episode. I hope you find this interview interesting and let Ben know that you appreciate all he has done and continues to do for the Atari community. This interview took place on March 26, 2016. Links:
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| 05 Sep 2015 | ANTIC Interview 77 - Tandy Trower, Atari Product Manager | 00:54:29 | |
Tandy Trower, Atari product manager
Tandy Trower started at Atari evaluating software titles, then moved on to the position of product manager, managing new titles including Missile Command, Asteroids, and the port of Microsoft BASIC for the Atari. Then, he left Atari for Microsoft, where — once again, he managed Microsoft BASIC for the Atari. Tandy also wrote the Character Set Editor program which was sold by Atari Program Exchange.
This interview took place May 13, 2015.
Teaser quotes:
“The Atari executives were so impressed with Bill [Gates] at the time that they flew up in their corporate jet to Seattle and offered to try to acquire Microsoft. But Bill and Paul [Allen] were not interested in selling at all at that time.”
“If you had a title, you had to make sure there was an engineer who was available and interested in doing it. So if you couldn’t talk an engineer into writing it — unless you were going to write it yourself. Except for me, there were very few people in the marketing department that could write their own code.” | |||
| 21 May 2017 | ANTIC Interview 279 - Tom Eckmann, Kyan Software | 00:38:35 | |
Tom Eckmann, President of Kyan Software Tom Eckmann was president and co-founder of Kyan Software. Kyan's flagship product was Kyan Pascal, an implementation of the Pascal programming language which was available for the Apple II, Atari 8-bits, and Commodore 64/128 computers. This interview took place on May 19, 2017. Teaser quote: "We sneered at Turbo Pascal because it was non-compliant, there were all of these un-pure features. ... He [Philippe Kahn] just looks looks at me and goes, 'Nobody gives a damn.'" | |||
| 15 Nov 2017 | ANTIC Interview 311 - Alan Reeve, Reeve Software | 00:37:41 | |
Alan Reeve, Reeve Software Alan Reeve is the founder of Reeve Software, a company that stated in 1984, creating software for the Atari 8-bit computers. Reeve Software published a variety of applications including Diamond GOS, News Station and News Station Companion, Publishing Pro, The Business Manager, and Diamond Write. The company's games included Battle Tank, Bomber, Castle Attack, Space Hunt, and Star Intruder. This interview took place on October 14, 2017. | |||
| 19 Jul 2015 | ANTIC Interview 64 - Rebecca Heineman, Racing Destruction Set and Mindshadow | 00:31:29 | |
Rebecca Heineman, Racing Destruction Set and Mindshadow
Rebecca Heineman was the keynote speaker at Kansasfest 2015, where she told all sorts of amazing stories about her Apple II development work. She developed Tass Times in Tonetown, Bard's Tale III, Borrowed Time, Battle Chess, Crystal Quest, and many other games for many platforms. She ported Racing Destruction Set and Mindshadow to the Atari 8-bit machines. She won the National Space Invaders Championship, sponsored by Atari, in November, 1980.
I also recommend listening to her KansasFest 2015 keynote, link below.
This interview was recorded July 17, 2015 at KansasFest.
Links KansasFest 2015 - Burger Becky Keynote
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| 29 Jan 2016 | ANTIC Interview 122 - Thomas Newton, Basic/XA and Keypad Controller | 00:11:17 | |
Thomas Newton, Basic/XA and Keypad Controller Thomas Newton, published two programs with Atari Program Exchange: Keypad Controller, software for reading the keypad game controllers from BASIC; and BASIC/XA, a set of add-ons for Atari BASIC programmers. This interview took place December 11, 2015. | |||
