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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Michael Mulhern Topic: 60 years between Bell 103 and today” s InterNet In 1962, the world gained Spacewar! and the Bell 103 modem. Topic/Feedback links: Spacewar at masswerk.at Spacewar! History of Spacewar! Computer Space Bell 103 NCR CRAM NCR CRAM product brochure. BBC archive, speaking with … Continue reading RCR Episode 262: 60 years between Bell 103 and today” s InterNet →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Cause the Commodordian Is Keeping Up With You 1961 was all fine and good, but someone has made an accordion out of two Commodore 64s and a bunch of floppy disks. Topic/Feedback links: Neural net on a C64. Minus zero at fourmilab OS 2200 Unisys … Continue reading RCR Episode 261: Cause the Commodordian is Keeping Up With You →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Blake Patterson Topic: Recommended Standard 232 and Programmed Data Processor-1 1960 brought us RS-232 and the PDP-1, more COBOL, and curly braces. Topic/Feedback links: Recommended Standard 232 A proposal for character code compatibility. The great curly brace trace Demo of the Digirule 2A Digirule 2U Legacy … Continue reading RCR Episode 260: Recommended Standard 232 and Programmed Data Processor-1 →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Little bit taller, COBOLler We consider 1959, and mostly come up with COBOL, then spend some time in an engagement-generating excercise, not quite remembering a remarkable number of things. Topic/Feedback links: COBOL at Britannica.com COBOL at Smithsonian. Grace Hopper on Letterman Gorilla Banana, a rebranded … Continue reading RCR Episode 259: Little bit taller, COBOLler →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Tron and Perceptron In 1958, the Perceptron arrived and Lisp was defined. We talk a bit about things we came across that were associated with 1958. Topic/Feedback links: Setting up Genera in Linux Bell Labs 101 modem Tennis For Two Perceptron Open Worm Deviant Oliam … Continue reading RCR Episode 258: Tron and Perceptron →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: The dot matrix impact Spending some time revisiting the calmer, quieter days when our printing was done by forcefully slamming pins through an ink ribbon onto perforated paper, pushed along by rotating spikes. Topic/Feedback links: Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Trailer Multimedia HyperGuide: A Windows … Continue reading RCR Episode 257: The dot matrix impact →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Keep calm and carry on Episode 0 has arrived. Topic/Feedback links: The 6502 overflow flag explained The 6502 overflow flag explained mathematically The 6502 overflow flag explained at the silicon level ZX80 8K BASIC ROM upgrade Floppy Days 114: Howell Ivy, Exidy The … Continue reading RCR Episode 256: Keep calm and carry on →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Blake Patterson Topic: The One With All The Ones The Retrocomputing Roundtable has reached the end of its 8-bit run. Topic/Feedback links: Byte 8-bit computing Nibble Big boxes history video Traveler (Wikipedia) Traveler (Imperial Encyclopedia) Traveler (Mongoose Publishing) Mayday 2022 Manhunt Wonderful Things (story about Manhunt) … Continue reading RCR Episode 255: The One With All The Ones →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Fortran, for better or for worse The year 1954 brought us Fortran (not named after the year though) to help us with our math, and development of SAGE to scan the skies for threats. Topic/Feedback links: IBM 650 Drum memory Wurlizter SideMan (not … Continue reading RCR Episode 254: Fortran, for better or for worse →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Michael Mulhern, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Prebricked drives Episode 253 relates to 1953. Core memory begins its long dominance of the RAM space, the IBM 701 is introduced. A year that was kind of between things, so as one might expect the conversation keeps sliding into a discussion of … Continue reading RCR Episode 253: Prebricked drives →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: UNIVAC liked Ike Episode 252 relates to 1952. The year when UNIVAC correctly called the election early and nobody believed it. The year the paper introducing the Huffman code compression algorithm was published. And the 50th anniversary of all the things that happened in 1902. … Continue reading RCR Episode 252: UNIVAC liked Ike →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Charles Mangin, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Memories of Whirlwind I It’s been 71 years since 1951. So, we talk about some things kind of loosely related to 1951, including computer music, the Whirlwind I, and memory technology. Topic/Feedback links: Whirlwind I Jim Butterfield C64 training tape David Ahl’s BASIC Computer Games, … Continue reading RCR Episode 251: Memories of Whirlwind I →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Computing Machinery and Intelligence It’s been 72 years since the year Turing published the paper that outlined the Turing test. So: Let’s talk about interactions we’ve had relating to artificial intelligence in some form or another. Topic/Feedback links: RetroMagazine issue 12, English version Total Replay … Continue reading RCR Episode 250: Computing Machinery and Intelligence →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Michael Mulhern, and Blake Patterson Topic: 2020 also We enter the third year of 2020. Yet another New Year’s, yet another opportunity to make the New Year’s resolution joke. Topic/Feedback links: Mega II project (single chip Apple II) Mega II project progress Acorn – a world in pixels (extended … Continue reading RCR Episode 249: 2020 also →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: So long, 2021 At the tail end of 2021, we talk about our retrocomputing-based adventures during the year, with a little bit of a look ahead at what might come after. Topic/Feedback links: Drop /// Inches, episode #11 (re: visiting Stanford archives) Mac networks game … Continue reading RCR Episode 248: So long, 2021 →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Blake Patterson Topic: Computing 24/7 In honor of episode 247, we talk about stuff vaguely related to “all the time.” Mostly we wound up talking about whether we turned our computers off or not. Topic/Feedback links: RetroMagazineWorld #11 The World of Commodore 2021 event information The World of … Continue reading RCR Episode 247: Computing 24/7 →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Data hoards and privacy Retrocomputing collectors often collect retrocomputers, which often have disks or hard drives, which might contain private data. Particularly as computers get recent enough to have hard drives. Particularly particularly in the future when retrocomputers might contain SSD drives. Topic/Feedback links: Retro … Continue reading RCR Episode 246: Data hoards, musician chords →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Michael Mulhern, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: End of line To the extent that you have physical objects, intellectual properties, accounts that host archives, what kind of plans do you have for when you are (possibly unexpectedly) no longer around? Or, what kind of plans do you plan … Continue reading RCR Episode 245: End of line →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Lacking future relevance Sunk time – times you’ve spent learning (or learning how to do) something that has no future relevance. What did you do, what were you THINKING? Topic/Feedback links: Foone Turing explores the updated Twitter image posting/processing rules, for a very good reason … Continue reading RCR Episode 244: Lacking Future Relevance →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Ian Baronofsky, and Earl Evans Topic: Networking keeps us all connec We continue to talk about networking in the context of old computers, in the days before everything was TCP/IP, when certain things were case-sensitive. Retro Computing News: A SAM Coupé spotted in the wild SAM Coupé on eBay RMC – … Continue reading RCR Episode 243: Networking keeps us all connec →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Ian Baronofsky, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Retro networking, episode 1 We talk about things the word “networking” evokes in the context of old computers. Transferring files between computers, reaching (sort of) the modern internet, networking socially, etc. Retro Computing News: Sir Clive Sinclair (Guardian) Arctic Adventure Captain 80 Book … Continue reading RCR Episode 242: Retro networking, episode 1 →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Every Septandy is Like the First Septandy We rediscover the Tandy enthusiasts event, talk about simulators and emulators, wind-up computers, and board games. Retro Computing News: Septandy Virtual Data Center, IBM 1401 Tiny load card assembler in Virtual IBM 1401 Upgrade Board Adds … Continue reading RCR Episode 241: Every Septandy is Like the First Septandy →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Screensavers Avoid burn-in, and sometimes end relationships, with the help of flying toasters, fireworks, and 3D pipes. Topic/Feedback Links: MiniPET 40/80 kit build and review MiniPET 40/80 kit Strange Commodore replacement keyboard? Emulating IBM PC on an ESP32 Retro Computing News: Applecorn: run Acorn BBC … Continue reading RCR Episode 240: A Flock of Toasters →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Tim Colegrove, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: The BYTE Shop We chat with Tim Colegrove, who has just opened The BYTE Shop, a computer history museum and electronics repair shop in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. We discuss his collection, his journey, plans, and hopes for bringing history and … Continue reading RCR Episode 239: The BYTE Shop →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Commodore 1541GS We continue yet again a conversation about computers as they arrived in schools, but also spend some time marveling at a Commodore 1541 drive that also produces music and video. Topic/Feedback Links: Handheld 64 (Gameboy-sized C64, Hackaday) PCBs to build your … Continue reading RCR Episode 238: Commodore 1541GS →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 18-bit Space Computers We continue a conversation about computers in school, but also mention an 18-bit space computer along the way. Topic/Feedback Links: Crosscountry Canada Quazar’s history of the Sam Coupé ICON computer (old-computers.com) ICON computer (wikipedia) Reddit thread about ICON Growin’ Up 80s, talking … Continue reading RCR Episode 237: 18-bit Space Computers →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Michael Mulhern, Jack Nutting, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Lasers Smoking in the PET Room We start a conversation about computers in school. For many of us, computers were only just becoming available in our school years, so we consider the access this provided (limited though it often was). Topic/Feedback … Continue reading RCR Episode 236: Lasers Smoking in the PET Room →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Playing in the MUD Multi User Dungeons brought a social aspect to computer RPGs, some with opportunities to do creative world building. We talk a bit about our experiences with these, and some about their background. Topic/Feedback Links: LambdaMOO at 50 Years of Text Games … Continue reading RCR Episode 235: Playing in the MUD →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: This sandwich tastes suspiciously like a ZX Spectrum Another topic-free episode, this one discussing the smuggling of Spectrums, satirical adventure games, BBS simulations, IBM clocks, CoCo paint programs, and various other tangents. Retro Computing News: Full Motion, Double High-Res Video Playback on the Apple IIe … Continue reading RCR Episode 234: This sandwich tastes suspiciously like a ZX Spectrum →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Retro Development Writing new software on old computers. How is it different now, would you go back to how it was done then? What did you use then? Topic/Feedback Links: Arcade Machine (Broderbund, Atari & Apple) Graphics Magician (Penguin, Apple, C64, Atari) Nox Archaist SKALD … Continue reading RCR Episode 233: Retro Development →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Period Peripherals When you use retro computers, do you also use retro peripherals? That is, do you stick with appropriately vintage keyboards, monitors, and mice? Does mixing and matching vintage computers with new peripherals ruin the experience or aesthetic? Or do the (supposed) benefits of … Continue reading RCR Episode 232: Period Peripherals →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Blake Patterson Topic: Something, Something, Retrocompute No topic this time, really, just various news items and eBay auctions. Accelerators, printers, a new Atari 2600 game, Microsoft history, a strangely familiar host’s gift idea. Retro Computing News: A2turbo Card Mockingboard-T (Mockingboard clone with tube amp) Audacity Games (Circus Convoy, … Continue reading RCR Episode 231: Something, Something, Retrocompute →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Blake Patterson Topic: Video Out, Volume One: A-Ap Techniques for getting video out of an old computer. Particularly, it turns out, if it is an Amiga. Part one of several, no doubt. Topic/Feedback links: Testing, cleaning and tuning up a small IBM VGA monitor CoCoVGA RetroTINK ZX-HD PLAdvanced+ … Continue reading RCR Episode 230: Video Out, Volume One: A-Ap →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Jack Nutting, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Catching Up It’s 2021! There are many of us this time, so we just talk about some stuff. Topic/Feedback links: Micro Phobia (Martin Honeysett) Apricot F1 Thomas Cherryhomes and Kay Savetz bounce a ball across the internet using FujiNet Reviewing the … Continue reading RCR Episode 229: Catching up →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Preserving the Fleeting Now Things people post, preserving the past, themselves vanish. eBay images, images in blogs that eventually go offline. Respositories like Pinterest morph into something less useful for preservation and searching. Are the things we find and post now … Continue reading RCR Episode 228: Preserving the Fleeting Now →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Not cassettes, not floppies Software distributed in some way other than on cassette or floppy. Topic/Feedback links: Database 1984 (BBC Micro broadcast software) 4 Computer Buffs 1985 (Soldering an optical sensor) An example of the annoying blob (4 Computer Buffs) Author of the … Continue reading RCR Episode 227: Not cassettes, not floppies →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston Topic: RCR Episode 2 Episode 2 of the Retro[ ]computing Roundtable is a decade old. Topic/Feedback links: Episode 2 Windows 1 Turns 25 Target Haunted Computer (eBay) Target Haunted Computer (YouTube) Retro Computing News: Atari announces list of games included with upcoming Atari VCS Official site … Continue reading RCR Episode 226: RCR Episode 2 →

Panelists: Earl Evans (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, Jack Nutting, and Blake Patterson Topic: Decade It’s been just days over 10 years since the first episode of this podcast, so we reflect a bit on the podcast, the community, our starts. Topic/Feedback links: Episode 1 Episode 30, live at KansasFest 2012 Live streaming video from Mac Plus … Continue reading RCR Episode 225: Decade →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Repurposed Tech This time we talk about existing technology repurposed for use with computers. Cassette tapes, CDs, TVs. Though it wound up being kind of more tangent than topic this time. Topic/Feedback links: Think-a-Tron review Precursor (FPGA phone) TEDuino, a Commodore cassette unit replacement Retro … Continue reading RCR Episode 224: Repurposed Tech →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Quinn Dunki, Jack Nutting, Michael Mulhern, Blake Patterson, and (briefly) Carrington Vanston Topic: Regrets and unregrets What’s something you regret buying, doing, selling, dumping, investigating, etc. in the context of the retrocomputing hobby AND what’s something that you bought, did, sold, dumped, investigated, etc. that led to an unexpectedly … Continue reading RCR Episode 223: Regrets and unregrets →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Jack Nutting, Carrington Vanston… and (eventually) Michael Mulhern Topic: Second computers What was your second computer? How did lessons learned with your first affect your choice of second? Topic/Feedback links: Cool-Retro-Term C64 mini monitor 3D printed Building a 3270 terminal controller Intel MDS development system (Centre for Computing History) … Continue reading RCR Episode 222: Second Computers →

Panelists: Earl Evans (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, and Blake Patterson Topic: Unexpected Bonuses Along the way as we collect things, strange things turn up in what we get. We talk a bit about unexpected bonuses in amongst our finds. Topic/Feedback links: Charles finds whimsical characters on chips TRS-80 Model I (article, Nuts and Volts, May 2002) … Continue reading RCR Episode 221: Unexpected Bonuses →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Blake Patterson Topic: Terminals For episode 220 (Think: VT-220), we talk about our various experiences with terminals. Topic/Feedback links: VirtualColussus is working on a 3D simulation Intel 8080 ICE development system ZX Spectrum Next 2nd kickstarter Retro Computing News: Game Controller – H.A.L. Labs Gizmo – Cloning the … Continue reading RCR Episode 220: Terminals →

Panelists: Earl Evans (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Databases For episode 0xdb, we talk about our experiences with dedicated database programs, what some of us learned and didn’t learn while studying computer science, employment as consultants, and other marginally related things. Topic/Feedback links: Self-contained tape loader for the ZX Spectrum Mini-PET … Continue reading RCR Episode 219: Databases →

KansasFest 2020 Megapodcast Welcome to Retro Open Poly Roundtable Chicken Missile Lines Drop Museum Gruecast. The annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest, this time conducted virtually. Note: Reading the links below could be “spoilers” for the game. Participants: Quinn Dunki (Blondihacks, Open Apple, Retrocomputing Roundtable) Earl Evans (Retrocomputing Roundtable, Next Without For, Retrobits) Ken Gagne (Polygamer, Transporter … Continue reading RCR Episode 218: KansasFest 2020 Megapodcast →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Architecture shifts Apple announced that it will be shifting its processor architecture from Intel to ARM. This has happened before, not just at Apple, but, well, mostly Apple or Apple-adjacent. We try to think of some other examples as well. Topic/Feedback links: New Golden Age … Continue reading RCR Episode 217: Architecture shifts →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: Home v. Hobby How have you kept the home/hobby balance? What has allowed you to remain friends/married/peaceful? Boundaries? Shared interest? Topic/Feedback links: Byte Cellar panorama Stitching together with QuickTime VR Studio 1.0 QTVR file of the panorama Collapse OS Basic mechanisms in gun … Continue reading RCR Episode 216: Home v. Hobby →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: On whether RealPlayer suuuuuuux Computer video: What have been the most striking impacts computer video has had on you? Topic/Feedback links: My first taste of CGA composite color 1K colors on CGA: How it’s done Full Motion Video World Steve Gibson’s page on … Continue reading RCR Episode 215: On whether RealPlayer suuuuuuux →

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Jack Nutting, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: As Seen on TV Retro computers, as featured in TV and movies. What shows at the time had computers in them? What shows of today has yesterday’s computers in them? Topic/Feedback links: Rebuilding James Bond’s Apple IIc – A Software Forgery … Continue reading RCR Episode 214: As Seen on TV →