ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

ANTIC Episode 122 - Atypical Kay

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we introduce a new format for the news, there's lots of archiving going on, new software and hardware for our favorite 8-bits, and we find out Kay is atypical…

READY!

Recurring Links 

Floppy Days Podcast 

AtariArchives.org 

AtariMagazines.com 

Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" 

New Atari books scans at archive.org 

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge 

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge 

Interview index: here 

ANTIC Facebook Page 

AHCS 

Eaten By a Grue 

Next Without For 

What we've been up to

• Via Mark Knudsen: 2" binder of "August 1987":

• Atari newsletter time capsule 1987-08 - https://archive.org/details/antc_Atari_newsletter_time_capsule_1987-08/ 

• And individual newsletters - https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=identifier%3Aantc_*1987-08 

• scanning Harry Stewart material:

• Here's his obit - https://www.mercurynews.com/obituaries/harry-stewart-san-jose-ca/

• https://archive.org/details/stx_MicroTec_6500_Relocatable_Macro_Assembler_Manual 

• https://archive.org/details/Bruce_Sherwood_Articles_about_Speech_Synthesis 

• https://archive.org/details/Atari_Speech_Handler_Preliminary_Specification_1983-03-31 

• https://archive.org/details/Steve_Bristow_memo_on_Atari_810_drive_manual_1981-02-22 

• https://archive.org/details/atari-810-model-810-rear-board-schematic 

• https://archive.org/details/Atari_810_disk_controller_firmware_memo_1980-12-22 

• https://archive.org/details/Atari_810_Disk_Drive_Peripheral_Device_Description_preliminary_release 

• https://archive.org/details/Atari_810_Disk_Drive_Controller_Program_Report_1980-11-18 

• Atari Usenet groups on IA (so far, more to come):

• https://archive.org/details/net_micro_atari 

• https://archive.org/details/net_micro_atari8 

• https://archive.org/details/net_micro_atari16 

• https://archive.org/details/comp_sys_atari 

• https://archive.org/details/comp_sys_atari_announce 

• https://archive.org/details/comp_sources_atari_st 

• Allan and Kay continuing work to archive all APX programs. Still need:

• Missing (any version) manuals:

• Algicalc

• Basic Arithmetic

• Basic Renumber Utility (Renum)

• Character Set Editor

• Database/Report System

• Deep Blue C

• Disk Menu

• Dragons Quest or a twist in the tail

• Geography

• Gossip. (?)

• Home Loan Analysis

• Market Place

• Reversi

• Missing programs (some have other versions other than APX):

• Basic Utility for Renumbering Programs BURP

• Calculator

• Earth Science

• Geography (both lists)

• Home Loan Analysis (both lists)

• Instructional Computing Demonstration

• Market Place (both lists)

• Variable Changer

• Spreadsheet of APX archiving progress 

• Atari poster - https://www.redbubble.com/i/poster/BASIC-Programmers-Guide-from-1981-by-ChoccyHobNob/39504539.LVTDI?asc=u&c=1128814-wall-art&ref=work_collections_grid 

• Tricky Tutorial #7 from Kevin Lund - https://www.atarimania.com/documents/Tricky-Tutorial-7-Disk-Utilities.pdf 

News

• New and Updated Games:

• FujiLlama:

• https://www.atariorbit.org/2025/09/26/fujilama-is-a-new-multiplayer-game/ 

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/384764-a-new-fuji-net-game-fuji-llama-coming-soon/ 

• https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266083/llama 

• New Italian text adventures for the Atari 8-bit:

• https://www.atariteca.net.pe/2025/10/nuevas-aventuras-de-texto-italianas.html 

• Wild West - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/385434-wild-west-text-adventure-released/ 

• Tin Star - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/385435-tin-star-text-adventure-released/ 

• Desperados - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/385436-desperados-text-adventure-released/ 

• New & Updated Software:

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/234684-atari-8-bit-software-preservation-initiative/page/113/#findComment-5735315 

• Atari OS ROM collection - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/201133-os-source-code-all-revisions/page/6/#findComment-5730231 

• Mark "atarimac" Grebe updated Atari800MacX to 6.1.0 - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/385276-atari800macx-61-released/ 

• Paulo Garcia continues his fantastic work on the FujiSan emulator (based on Atari800 emulator with emphasis on UI). - https://github.com/pedgarcia/fujisan/releases/tag/v1.0.5 

• Eric Carr updates the VSCode Extension for FastBASIC - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/351055-fastbasic-debugger-extension-for-vscode/ 

• Publications

• Atari Insights October issue - https://ataribasics.com/newsletter-hub/ 

• Compute's Gazette October issue - https://www.computesgazette.com 

• ABBUC Magazine Special Mag 56 available in English (downloadable) for members - https://abbuc.de/download/abbuc-sondermagazin-56-papierbeilage-englisch/ 

• Old School Gamer #48 - https://shop.oldschoolgamer.com/products/osg-issue-48-september-2025 

• New & Updated Hardware

• Atari 1027 printer belt by Jeri Ellsworth - https://bsky.app/profile/jeriellsworth.bsky.social/post/3m3ojeg7x6c2e 

• New 1:1 1000dpi Replica of Atari XE Motherboard in production - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/383379-new-11-1000dpi-replica-of-atari-xe-motherboard-%E2%80%93-interest-check/page/7/ 

• New 1:1 1000dpi Replica of Atari 600XL Motherboard – Interest Check - Piotr D. Kaczorowski - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/384709-new-11-1000dpi-replica-of-atari-600xl-motherboard-%E2%80%93-interest-check/ 

• Contests

• ABBUC Software Competition:

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/381593-abbuc-software-contest-2025 

• Video of the 13 games from the contest run on real hardware (Philsan) - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/381593-abbuc-software-contest-2025/page/5/#findComment-5735942 

• ABBUC Hardware Competition - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/381594-abbuc-hardware-contest-2025/ 

• ATASCII Compo 2025:

• https://atariscne.org/news/index.php/atascii-compo-2025-is-running 

• https://logiker.com/ATASCII 

• Other

• https://tedium.co/2025/10/20/computers-fcc-rf-interference-history/

• Atari 8-bit calendar (from Atariteca on Facebook):

• Article - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17NVFQ4pA8/ 

• Ordering - https://www.facebook.com/martin.grundy.94 

Upcoming Shows

2025

• Atari Party 2025 - Nov. 22, 2025 (noon to 4) - Quakertown, PA Train Station - http://atariparty.org/ 

2026

• Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ 

• Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/ 

• Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com 

• Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ 

• VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ 

• Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ 

• VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

• Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ 

• Southern Fried Gaming Expo - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

• Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026 

• Event page on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

YouTube Videos

• A Brilliant Failure: The Atari 400 & 800 Story - Little Car - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcUt0GCk-YI 

• Atari Now! October 2025 News and Home brew for all Atari systems - Steve & Jeff Fulton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMhNSFx6gyg 

New at Archive.org 

• Allan: https://archive.org/details/@allan52 :

• https://archive.org/details/math-mission-apx-ver-3

• https://www.oconnormortuary.com/obituaries/david-paul-kosmal/ 

• https://archive.org/details/wordgo-apx-ver-3

• https://archive.org/details/atari-xl-product-line-fact-sheets

• https://archive.org/details/@archivingisimportant :

• I Heart Atari newsletters french - https://archive.org/details/atarinews_1 

• https://archive.org/details/@ted_skrecky 

New at GitHub

• https://github.com/illuminated-g/atari_asm_moon 

Feedback

• https://oldbytes.space/@fluidlogic/115248639418865349

ANTIC Episode 121 - Dongle Disaster

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Special guest Brent Carroll joins as we bring you the Atari news and narrowly avoid disaster with our dongle talk …

READY!

Recurring Links 

Floppy Days Podcast 

AtariArchives.org 

AtariMagazines.com 

Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" 

New Atari books scans at archive.org 

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge 

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge 

Interview index: here 

ANTIC Facebook Page 

AHCS 

Eaten By a Grue 

Next Without For 

What we've been up to

• CX40+ Wireless Joystick: 

• https://atari.com/products/wireless-cx40-joystick-atari 

• https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Silver-Wireless-Joystick-Atari-2600/dp/B0DDR68ZXR 

• Harry Stewart died:

• his daughter sent me documents https://bsky.app/profile/savetz.bsky.social/post/3lyj77tjtns2j 

• Kay's 2017 interview with Harry - ANTIC Interview 295 - Harry Stewart, Pilot and WSFN 

• VCFMW - https://www.vcfwm.org 

• Video interview of Cynthia Solomon and Brian Silverman - https://youtu.be/lWmXPEyl9T8 

• FujiNet-enabled Atari800Macx:

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/382899-adding-fujinet-support-to-atari800macx/page/3/#findComment-5709456 

• https://github.com/atarimacosx/Atari800MacX/releases/tag/Release_6.1.0Beta1 

News

• Nick DiMasi (SCAT) passed way:

• Interview with Nick at VCFMW 13 - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-episode-5-connect-your-atari-to-a-pc (Nick's interview is near the end of the show) 

• SCAT - http://www.scatarians.org/ 

• Rare sighting of a working 1027 printer at latest TACO meeting - https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16vmTRRzHD/ 

• Modified Atari 800 with a custom cpu board and a hp 1611a logic analyzer would plug into the external port - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fv8FM9yxz/ 

• RM800XL update on X - https://x.com/rm_800xl/status/1964665547821637818 

• Microsoft open-sources the 6502 BASIC coded by Bill Gates himself:

• https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/microsoft_open_sources_6502_basic/

• https://github.com/microsoft/BASIC-M6502 

• Atari XL/XE -=Elite=- beta version:

• From AtariTeca - https://www.atariteca.net.pe/2025/09/inesperado-beta-jugable-de-elite.html 

• Saberman Retronews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi8Fr9XFxKQ 

• Download - https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-elite_44548.html 

• 5.25" Floppy Envelope Generator from Pawel "Lexx" Kawka:

• From Atariteca - https://www.atariteca.net.pe/2025/09/nuevo-generador-de-fundas.html 

• online tool for designing covers - https://ataricovers.com/generator-kopert/?lang=en 

• Cassette Cover Generator 

Newsletter News

• September, 2025 issue of Atari Insights - https://www.ataribasics.com 

• ABBUC magazines 162 and special mag 56 - https://www.abbuc.de 

Upcoming Shows

• Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/ 

• Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/ 

• Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com 

• Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 2026 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ 

• VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/ 

• Southern Fried Gaming Expo - July 31-Aug 2 2026 - Atlanta, Ga - https://gameatl.com/ 

• Event page created by Chicago Classic Computing - http://chiclassiccomp.org/events.html 

• Event page created by Floppy Days on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/ 

• Event page on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub 

YouTube Videos

• How did the Atari beat the Commodore 64 in Chile thanks to Coelsa? - Frognum - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NW2ZkWQ-nw 

• Atari Now! News and Homebrews, September 2025 - Into the Vertical Blank - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKlmVrEHhhI 

• Atari 800XL FujiNet and Sega Genesis Retro.Link Networking Test - Greg Gallardo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdYFlnNGm9o 

New at Archive.org

• Ted Skrecky continues uploading XIO3 newsletters - https://archive.org/details/@ted_skrecky 

• https://archive.org/details/de-re-atari-spanish_202508 

Listener Feedback

• O'Shea limestone cave - http://www.oshealtd.com/atari.htm 

• Long Island Gaming Expo in NY - https://liretro.com/ 

ANTIC Episode 75 - Video Wars

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast… we discuss the merits of Sophia vs. VBXE for video upgrades, kick off the BASIC 10-liners contest, discuss some new games, and talk about numerous hardware upgrades that are coming.

READY!

Recurring Links 

Floppy Days Podcast 

AtariArchives.org 

AtariMagazines.com 

Kevin's Book "Terrible Nerd" 

New Atari books scans at archive.org 

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge 

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge 

Interview index: here 

ANTIC Facebook Page 

AHCS 

Eaten By a Grue 

Next Without For 

What We've Been Up To

• Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games - https://amzn.to/3k8avzS 
• Code for Atari8BitBot (https://twitter.com/atari8bitbot) now on GitHub - (https://github.com/savetz/Atari8BitBot) 
• PC BASIC Bot - https://pcbasicbot.com 
• ACE80XL cart - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/ 
• Interview with Claus Buckholz and Lance Ward - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-292-claus-buchhoz-lance-ward-ace-80 in 2017 

Recent Interviews 

• https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-403-dan-kramer-atari-trak-ball-controllers 
• https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-special-episode-my-atari-by-suzanne-ciani 

News 

• External version of Ultimate1MB for Atari XL/XE under development by Sebastian 'Candle`o`Sin' Bartkowicz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Rx20IQ94UuU&fbclid=IwAR0gZj99WWBTq1EDMLK5yUkmpTqa51-f7dLwighOuZUqjIRr-HU0Pjwn8Q8 
• Atari800MacX emulator update - https://github.com/atarimacosx/Atari800MacX/releases/tag/Release_6.0.0 
• Atari Projects: http://atariprojects.org/ - Jason Moore - latest project is on using Atari FastBASIC.  Also recent projects on using CP/M through FujiNet, and the ACE80 carts. 
• Version 6.0.0 of the RECOIL graphics browser from Atari computers and others has been released - http://recoil.sourceforge.net 
• BASIC 10-Liner Contest 2021:
• • https://gkanold.server.deerpower.de/
  • https://twitter.com/Basic10L 
• MouSTer for Atari 8-bit:
• • https://hackaday.com/2020/07/14/modern-mice-on-old-computers/
  • https://retrohax.net/shop/amiga/mouster/ 
  • https://retrohax.net/shop/ 
• Thingiverse Atari 800 Pi case - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3110334 
• Atari Homebrew Awards - BINARIES, INSTRUCTIONS & PACKAGING 
• New game Albert by kski:
• • http://atarionline.pl/v01/index.php?ct=nowinki&ucat=1&subaction=showfull&id=1613313216
  • https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=atari+800&sp=CAISBAgEEAE%253D 
• Atari 800 / Sophia-2 Install by Faicuai:
• • https://atariage.com/forums/topic/317398-atari-800-sophia-2-install-letting-antic-and-gtia-be-the-best-they-can-be/ 
  • https://thebrewingacademy.com/products/sophia-2-dvi-output-gtia-replacement?variant=32256340164710 

Shows

• Upcoming Shows where you might see Atari computers (or Atari people):
• • VCFSE June 11-13 http://southernfriedgameroomexpo.com/ 
  • KansasFest July 23-24 https://www.kansasfest.org ; virtual event 
  • August 7 & 8, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival West 2021 (VCF West) 
  • October 8, 9, 10, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival East 2021 (VCF East) 
• Event page created by Chicago Classic Computing - http://chiclassiccomp.org/events.html?fbclid=IwAR3Fm5hf7PCQj0yXBxXvj9J8Mp8GDwD2w1bfD_qktpPOnNYNoQUmN_EpgB8 
• Event page created by Floppy Days - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/ 
• Event page on Vintage Is The New Old - https://vintageisthenewold.com/vintage-is-the-new-old-releases-new-events-calendar/ 

YouTube videos this month

• Atari 800 VBXE installation - gyorka (Candle o Sin) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=CvoUvU4AFEc&fbclid=IwAR0GQZIvUSN3-cwGnMR0tZSIZ9xTpoGAvkkvN-t7M1zMVJsLSVVydqk-6qk 
• zxEmu and 8bit Atari (Rapidus, Ultimate 1MB, VBXE) - nowy80Retro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzrXcf-WBXA 
• Dingux-atari, new Atari 800 and Atari 5200 emulator for Miyoo consoles - silvacam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXJ2Ekv7KiY 
• Back to the Future Java (b2fJ) - Eduardo Ahumada Gallardo:
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQllSZyGrjI 
  • Download - https://github.com/mzattera/b2fJ/releases/latest 
• Polish games for Atari 8-bit developed after 2000 - https://youtu.be/GQQR7Xy-nTk 

New at Archive.org

• Hobbit, Dutch computer magazine, March 1983 - https://archive.org/details/HOBBIT_1983_0003/mode/2up 
• Paul Daniels:
• • Video - https://archive.org/details/twitter-710542070373429248 
  • Paul Daniels' Magic Adventure - http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-paul-daniels--magic-adventure_3906.html 
• Allan Bushman: Strategic Simulations, Inc's Fall 1987/Winter 1988 Catalog - https://archive.org/details/strategic-simulations-inc-catalog-fall-87-winter-88-catalog/mode/2up 

Dan Kramer, Atari Trak-Ball Controllers

Dan Kramer worked at Atari from 1980 to 1984 in the consumer engineering group where he created products for the home computers and home video games. He championed the creation of the Trak-Ball accessories for the Atari game consoles and computers, and received a patent for his digital-to-analog interface for the Atari 5200 trak-ball. He also worked on the French (SECAM) version of the Atari XL computers, the Atari 2700, and various other projects.

This interview took place on December 18, 2020.

Playing Catch-Up: Dan Kramer (2005 interview): https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/97175/Playing_CatchUp_Dan_Kramer.php

Patent: Digital-analog conversion for shaft encoders: https://patents.justia.com/patent/4496936

Video version of this interview at YouTube: https://youtu.be/l0E6BCrhka0

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 

Floppy Days Podcast 

AtariArchives.org 

AtariMagazines.com 

Kevin's Book "Terrible Nerd" 

New Atari books scans at archive.org 

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge 

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge 

Interview index: here 

ANTIC Facebook Page 

AHCS 

Eaten By a Grue 

Next Without For 

What We've Been Up To

• Atari Party Dec 19 - https://www.facebook.com/groups/281252672436874 
• Kay's 2020 Post-Mortem - https://www.patreon.com/posts/2020-post-mortem-45658000 
• Retrotink zero-latency HDMI converter - https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/2x-mini 
• Sid Meier's Memoir - https://amzn.to/3oyobG4 
• BASIC games Kay recovered - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/315354-a-few-basic-games-i-recovered/ 
• SIO2PC-USB case - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product/sio2pc-universal-interface-case , https://atariage.com/forums/topic/313161-atarimax-sio2pc-and-sio2pc-usb-cases/#comments 

Recent Interviews 

• ANTIC Interview 401 - John F. White: Writing Strategy Games On Your Atari Computer & Superquerg 
• ANTIC Interview 402 - The Famous Computer Cafe 

News 

• Fractalus 1.0 Released - https://www.lsdwa.com/blog/2020/12/18/fractalus-1-0-released/ 
• ACE80 cart run at Vintage Computer Center - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/312362-ace80-ace80xl-dt80-pre-order/ 
• Tfhh list - http://www.van-radecke.de/STUFF/tfhh_HW_info.pdf 
• Mystery cart - https://www.facebook.com/groups/floppydays/permalink/2840376299554125/ 
• Fresh interview with Mark Reid, Author of Getaway - https://www.everythingamiga.com/2021/01/a-conversation-with-mark-reid-author-of-getaway.html 
• Rob's 2016 interview with Mark - http://playermissile.com/podcast/ep019.html 
• A-Train Systems A-TRACK - model railroad electronics and control - https://www.a-train-systems.co.uk/getatrack.htm 
• History and Features of the Original Atari A-TRACK Version - https://www.a-train-systems.co.uk/projects.htm#atHistory 
• 'FLOP' Magazine - http://flop.atariportal.cz/index.en.php 
• Atari800MacX v5.5.0 - https://github.com/atarimacosx/Atari800MacX/releases/tag/Release_5.5.0 
• Authentic Reproduction ATR8000 Interest - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/312890-authentic-reproduction-atr8000-interest/#comments 
• Invitation to play in the new season of the HSC, first round starting now! - http://atariage.com/forums/forum/60-8-bit-high-score-club/ 
• Real 16KB RAM game compo from Sikor Soft - Sikor on AtariAge - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/315158-real-16kb-ram-game-compo-from-sikor-soft/ 
• Atari 8-bit on hackaday - https://hackaday.com/2020/12/30/alien-inspired-cyberdeck-packs-vintage-atari-800xl/ 
• https://github.com/eizen6/6502portable 
• AspeQt on a Raspberry Pi how-to - https://13leader.net/AspeQT2RasPI.pdf 
• Once Upon Atari: How I made history by killing an industry Paperback – December 14, 2020 by Howard Scott Warshaw - https://amzn.to/3mjSC0u 
• http://www.atariwomen.org 

Shows

• Upcoming Shows where you might see Atari computers (or Atari people):
• • April 9, 10 & 11, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival East 2021 (VCF East) 
  • VCFSE June 11-13 http://southernfriedgameroomexpo.com/ 
  • KansasFest July 19-25 https://www.kansasfest.org 
  • August 7 & 8, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival West 2021 (VCF West) 
• Event page created by Chicago Classic Computing - http://chiclassiccomp.org/events.html?fbclid=IwAR3Fm5hf7PCQj0yXBxXvj9J8Mp8GDwD2w1bfD_qktpPOnNYNoQUmN_EpgB8 
• Event page created by Floppy Days - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/ 
• Event page on Vintage Is The New Old - https://vintageisthenewold.com/vintage-is-the-new-old-releases-new-events-calendar/ 

YouTube videos this month

• Atari Quirks and Solutions - Thomas Cherryhomes - https://youtu.be/3lPsd0FkNss 
• Thomas Cherryhomes - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwP6ehTJXvcI-JOWTEwnyGQ U1MB and SpartaDOS X with FujiNet and a whole series of videos around FujiNet
• FujiNet Disk Copy - Vintage Computer Center (Gavin Haubelt) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YovR3mrCmQ0&t=731s 
• Building the FujiNet - Vintage Computer Center - Parts 1-5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqKOGyEjYec 
• SDrive-Max videos - Vintage Computer Center - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOp5f6eC-yh4cLnxfw2yrxQ 
• FlashJazzCat (Jonathan Halliday) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4nx-i-2K34RDHyDn06i7Ng Atari XEGS with UAV, VBXE, U1MB, and PokeyMAX, Various videos on repairing and upgrading a 600XL

New at GitHub

• https://github.com/codingbychanche/atariParallelDataTransfer 
• Bill Lange's Exploring Atari Action https://github.com/billlange1968/ExploringAtariAction to accompany https://exploringaction.blogspot.com 

New at Archive.org

• New collection "Atari Computer Disk Images" https://archive.org/details/ataridiskimages 
• Antic magazine renewal letters https://archive.org/details/1986.07-antic-renewal https://archive.org/details/1986.05-antic-renewal 
• https://archive.org/details/rearc_atr-8000-newsletter-august-1984-08-swp-inc-us/mode/2up 
• Chalk Board Inc's Power Pad Programming Kit manual https://archive.org/details/power-pad-programming-kit-chalk-board-inc/mode/2up 
• Strategic Simulations, Inc. Spring, 1987 Catalog https://archive.org/details/strategic-simulations-inc-spring-1987/mode/2up
• Atari Home Computer Products Premium  Incentive Confidential Price List https://archive.org/details/atari-home-computer-products-1-1-82/mode/2up 

Feedback

• Adam Trionfo video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcftw31VQw
• a nice tweet we got - https://twitter.com/dneedham8302/status/1335755648278155267?s=21 

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. 

The Famous Computer Cafe

This is a podcast episode featuring three interviews with people who created a radio show that did hundreds of interviews.

The Famous Computer Cafe was -- not a restaurant -- but a radio program that aired from 1983 through the first quarter of 1986. The program included computer news, product reviews, and interviews.

The program was created by three people — who were not only the on-air voices, but did all the work around the program: getting advertisers, buying air time, researching each day's computer news, booking interviews -- everything. Those three people were Andrew Velcoff, Michael Walker (now Michael FireWalker), and Ellen Fead Hansen (later Ellen Walker, now Ellen Fields.) For this episode of Antic, I got to talk with all three of The Famous Computer Cafe's proprietors.

There were several versions of the show, which aired on several radio stations, primarily in California. A live, daily half-hour version allowed phone calls from listeners. Taped versions (running a half-hour and up to two hours) also aired daily. The show started in 1983 on two stations in the Los Angeles area: KFOX 93.5 FM and KIEV 870 AM. In 1985 it began airing in the California Bay Area: on KXLR 1260 AM in San Francisco and KCSM 91.1 FM in San Matro, and KSDO 1130 AM in San Diego.

Also in 1985 a nationally syndicated, half-hour non-commercial version of The Famous Computer Cafe was available via satellite to National Public Radio stations around the United States, though it's not clear today which stations ran it.

To me, the most exciting thing about the show was the interviews. The list of people that the show interviewed is a who's-who of tech luminaries of the early 1980s.  But not just computer people: they interviewed anyone whose work was touched by personal computer technology. musicians, professors, publishers, philosophers, journalists, astrologers.

The cafe aired interviews with Philip Estridge, the IBM vice president who was responsible for developing the PC; Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates; Atari Chairman Jack Tramiel; Bill Atkinson, developer of MacPaint; Infocom's Joel Berez; Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek; musician Herbie Hancock; Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts; author Douglas Adams; Stewart Brand, editor of the Whole Earth Catalog; psychologist Timothy Leary; science fiction writer Ray Bradbury; synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog; and pop star Donny Osmond. The list goes on and on and on. By mid-1985, the show had run more than 300 half-hour interviews.

Here's the bad news. Those episodes, those interviews, are lost. Today, a recording of only one Cafe episode is known to exist. That show, which aired January 2, 1986, includes an interview with Rich Gold, creator of the Activision simulation Little Computer People; a call-in from tech journalist John Dvorak; and commercials for Elephant Floppy Disks and Microsoft Word. The entire 29-minute episode is available at Internet Archive, with the gracious permission of the show's creators. It's an amazing time capsule -- which survived because Rich Gold, interviewed on the program, saved a cassette of that show. Perhaps, somewhere, there are hundreds more episodes waiting to be re-discovered — if someone has the recordings. If you do, contact me at antic@ataripodcast.com. 

FOUND IN 2024!: 53 episodes of Famous Computer Cafe 

The good news is that transcripts of six interviews do exist (and are now online): Timothy Leary, Donny Osmond, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky; Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series; Tom Mahon, author of Charged Bodies; and Jack Nilles, head of the University of Southern California Center for Futures Research.

Check this episode's show notes, at AtariPodcast.com, for links to the one episode, the six transcripts, and the cool Famous Computer Cafe logo.

You'll hear the interviews in the order in which I recorded them. First up is Michael FireWalker, then Ellen Fields, then Andrew Velcoff.

The interview with Michael FireWalker took place on May 27, 2020. The interview with Ellen Fields took place on June 1, 2020. The interview with Andrew Velcoff took place on July 3, 2020.

Special thanks to fellow researcher Devin Monnens, and the Department of Special Collections at Stanford University.

This podcast used excerpts from the one The Famous Computer Cafe episode that is known to exist. That episode, now available at Internet Archive, was digitized by Stanford University (the physical tape is in their special collections located in the Stanford Series 9 of the Rich Gold Collection (M1510), Box 2.)

If you have any other recordings of any Famous Computer Cafe episodes, please contact me at antic@ataripodcast.com.

The Famous Computer Cafe 1986-01-02 episode

The Famous Computer Cafe interview transcripts

The Famous Computer Cafe ads, photos, articles

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 

Floppy Days Podcast 

AtariArchives.org 

AtariMagazines.com 

Kevin's Book "Terrible Nerd" 

New Atari books scans at archive.org 

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge 

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge 

Interview index: here 

ANTIC Facebook Page 

AHCS 

Eaten By a Grue 

Next Without For 

What We've Been Up To

• https://twitter.com/Atari8BitBot 

Recent Interviews 

• ANTIC Interview 400 - Suzanne Ciani, pioneer in electronic music - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-400-suzanne-ciani-pioneer-in-electronic-music 

News 

• River Raid "Cold Winter" for the Atari XL/XE
• • Article at Vintage is the New Old - https://vintageisthenewold.com/river-raid-cold-winter-for-the-atari-xl-xe-a-new-take-on-a-classic-game-that-goes-beyond-a-simple-rom-hack/ 
  • short video as a teaser: https://youtu.be/CnviviXT6wg 
  • Download: AtariOnline.pl 
• Pokey Explorer POKEY explorer - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/313338-pokey-explorer-v11-release/ and https://github.com/ivop/pokey-explorer 
• atarimacosx Version Release_5.4.0 - https://github.com/atarimacosx/Atari800MacX/releases/ 
• New software coming for the Atari 8-bit at AtariAge - https://mobile.twitter.com/atariage/status/1324466917051113472/photo/2 - 2 new games for Atari 8 Bit computers in the AtariAge Store later this month: Adventure II XE and Scramble! 
• Inverse ATASCII Season 6 podcast - https://inverseatascii.info/ 
• Chicken Missile Podcast https://chickenmissile.com 
• Michael Sternberg got Magic Castle working:
• • https://github.com/michaelsternberg/magic-castle 
  • ANTIC Interview 375 - Bruce May, Unreleased Magic Castle Game - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-375-bruce-may-unreleased-magic-castle-game 
• ABBUC 2020 Software Contest Winners - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/304311-atari-8-bit5200-homebrew-completedwip-in-2020/?do=findComment&comment=4678322 

Shows

• Upcoming Shows where you might see Atari computers (or Atari people):
• • December 19, 2020: Atari Party (Bill Lange), virtual - https://t.co/uAEmMqlZz2?amp=1 
  • April 9, 10 & 11, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival East 2021 (VCF East)
  • June 11-13, 2021: http://southernfriedgameroomexpo.com/ 
  • August 7 & 8, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival West 2021 (VCF West) 
• Event page created by Chicago Classic Computing - http://chiclassiccomp.org/events.html?fbclid=IwAR3Fm5hf7PCQj0yXBxXvj9J8Mp8GDwD2w1bfD_qktpPOnNYNoQUmN_EpgB8 
• Event page created by Floppy Days - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/ 
• Event page on Vintage Is The New Old - https://vintageisthenewold.com/vintage-is-the-new-old-releases-new-events-calendar/ 

Christmas Gift Ideas

• Atari 1020 Tissue Box - https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/911472311/atari-1020-tissue-paper-box?ref=cart 
• buy or build a FujiNet https://fujinet.online/shop/ don't forget about $5 off coupon at http://www.vintagecomputercenter.com Coupon code:"antic5", limit 1 per person and only good for the FujiNet. No expiration
• Atari face mask - https://www.etsy.com/listing/840113927/atari-face-mask 
• ABBUC membership - http://www.abbuc.de/mitgliedschaft/mitglied-werden 
• SDrive Max - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product/atari-1050-sdrive-max 
• ArcadeR Joystick - https://retroradionics.co.uk/#!/ArcadeR-9-pin-ATARI-standard-Joystick/p/168982750/category=0 
• Atari XL/XE 5-Pin DIN S-Video & Composite AV Cable - https://www.8bitclassics.com/product/atari-xlxe-5-pin-din-to-s-video-composite-av-cable/ 
• RetroTink2X Pro -  https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/retrotink-2x-pro or RT2xMini https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/2x-mini  (converting component, S-video and composite signals from retro consoles to a modern digital display)
• Atari Badges/Stickers - https://www.mateoproceo.com/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=atari&submit_search=
• books

• • Terrible Nerd by Kevin Savetz - https://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Nerd-Kevin-Savetz/dp/1939169003 
  • Atari: Visual History of the Atari 8-bit Computer by Darren Doyle - https://www.greyfoxbooks.com/product/the-atari-a-visual-history/ 
  • Atari Inc. Business is Fun by Marty Goldberg and Curt Vendel - https://www.amazon.com/Atari-Inc-Business-Curt-Vendel/dp/0985597402 
  • Breakout: How Atari 8-bit Computers Defined a Generation by Jamie Lendino - https://www.amazon.com/Breakout-Atari-Computers-Defined-Generation/dp/0692851275 
  • Atari Projects by Jason Moore - https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/jason-moore/atari-projects/paperback/product-196qrpj9.html?page=1&pageSize=4 
  • Art of Atari by Tim Lapetino - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Atari-Tim-Lapetino/dp/1524101036 
  • Art of Atari Poster Collection by Tim Lapetino - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Atari-Poster-Collection-Lapetino/dp/1524103020 
  • Missile Commander https://arcadeblogger.com/mcbookusa/
• Make a donation to Internet Archive https://archive.org/donate/ 

YouTube videos this month

• Atari 400 and 800 Computer Comprehensive Presentation 2019 VCF EAST Festival - DRGUILLOTINE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rT8QzHWTFQ - Curt Vendel 
• All About Atari 8-Bit Programming - Rhode Island Computer Museum - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF97bRp8tKo 
• Atari 8 Bit OS Boot Sequence - Dendrite Digital - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ZRKFpsu48 - Find out how the Atari 8 Bit Computer initializes.

New at GitHub

• syntax highlighting for Visual Studio Code - https://github.com/pedgarcia/ossaction-vscode 

New at Archive.org

• Invitation to Programming 1,2,3 manuals in Italian:
• • https://archive.org/details/invito-a-programmare-1 
  • https://archive.org/details/invito-a-programmare-2 
  • https://archive.org/details/invito-a-programmare-3 
• Atari 130 XE, 600 XL, 800 XL für Einsteiger (for beginners) in German by Norbert Szczepanowski - https://archive.org/details/atari-130-xe-600-xl-800-xl-fur-einsteiger 

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.