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Explore every episode of the podcast ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Dive into the complete episode list for ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Stephen Jones, Interim Computer Museum24 oct. 202600:53:37
Stephen Jones, Interim Computer Museum   Stephen Jones describes himself as the "caretaker" of Interim Computer Museum, a computer museum in Tukwila, Washington, a few miles south of Seattle. Stephen has decades of involvement with sdf.org, the public-access UNIX system that's been around since 1987; he was senior engineering manager at the Living Computer Museum, Paul Allen's Seattle computer museum that shuttered in 2020.   In this interview, Stephen provides a brief history of SDF.org, the rise and fall of the Living Computer Museum, and the birth of the Interim Computer Museum. He explains what happened to the holdings of Living Computer Museum, and some of the interesting items at Interim Computer Museum.   This interview took place on May 3, 2026 at Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest in Washington State.

SDF.org

Interim Computer Museum

Allen Family Philanthropies

Mimms Museum of Technology and Art

Living Computer Museums + Labs site (archived)

Christie's sale of the The Paul G. Allen Collection

2018 Interview - Cynde Moya, Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs

Idea Man by Paul Allen

Source Code by Bill Gates

ANTIC Episode 131 - Brad's 30K Brain15 oct. 202601:55:06

ANTIC Episode 131 - Brad's 30K Brain

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we discuss the newly announced THE ATARI800XL and give our opinions, we talk about Hamster power, and Brad now has only 30K for his brain, plus a whole lot more!

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

Recent Interview Shows

New & Updated Hardware

New & Updated Games

New & Updated Software

Publications

Contests

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org 

New at Github

Feedback

 

ANTIC Interview 466 - John Victor, Program Design Inc.10 oct. 202600:40:36
John Victor, Program Design Inc.   John Victor was founder and president of Program Design Inc., one of the earliest publishers of educational software. Based in Greenwich CT, PDI created dozens of educational software titles and a few not-so-educational games for Atari 8-bit, Commodore PET and 64, TRS-80, Apple II, and Texas Instruments computers. Software marketed by PDI included Moonbase IO, Sammy the Sea Serpent, and Preparing for the SAT (which was probably the first SAT prep software for any home computer).   PDI also created "An Invitation to Programming", the casette-based BASIC programming primer sold by Atari. That may have been the first "how to program" tutorial for a home computer.   Here's what ANALOG Computing's September 1981 issue had to say —   Program Design, Inc., better known as PDI, has been involved in supporting the Atari computers since even before its release. Most Atari computer owners know of this company through the Invitation to Programming series, which was conceived and executed entirely by PDI. Located in southern Connecticut, PDI has been actively producing educational software for several small computer systems, concentrating on the Atari in particular. The majority of PDI's offerings are oriented towards children, with the age bracket ranging from 3 years old to high school level. All of the programs are on cassette format only, frequently taking advantage of the voice track capability. One of the newer programs, "Sammy the Sea Serpent", is an interactive storybook type game where the child participates in the story. While graphics are  displayed on the screen, a voice (a female actress' voice was used in this case) narrates the story calling upon the child to use a joystick from time to time to move 'Sammy' about the screen. ... Other tapes drill students on vocabulary and number problems, with some aimed at preparing high school students for the SAT tests. For adults, Astro-Quotes and Mini-Crossword Puzzle can be an interesting challenge (Astro-Quotes, our particular favorite)...   Other titles published by PDI included Bowling, Captivity, various word search programs, Code Breaker, Let's Spell, Cash Register, Preschool IQ Builder, Reading Comprehension — the list goes on.   This interview took place on October 4, 2026.

Video version of this interview

1984 Antic magazine profile of John Victor

ANALOG Computing "In the Spotlight"

PDI programs at AtariMania

Programs co-credited to John

An Invitation to Programming

Moonbase IO game audio

ANTIC Interview 465 - Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal)30 sept. 202601:19:30
Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal)   Vince Wu worked at Atari for about two and a half years. He was the programmer of The Learning Phone, the PLATO terminal for Atari 8-bit computers. Before that, he worked with PLATO at the University of Illinois, then in California for Control Data Corporation. PLATO was the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system, a groundbreaking graphical client-server computer system aimed at education.   To assist in this interview, I was joined by Thomas Cherryhomes and Michael Sternberg, who were on a road trip to a Vintage Computer Festival conference. In 2018, Tom Cherryhomes created IRATA.ONLINE, a modern working version of the PLATO server and terminals. Michael Sternberg helped reverse engineer the Atari PLATO cartridge for that project.   This interview took place on September 10, 2026.

Video version of this interview

1984 "PLATO Rising" article in Antic magazine

The Learning Phone review in ANALOG Computing magazine

The Friendly Orange Glow: The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture

Computer History Museum PLATO@50: PLATO Computer Learning System 50th Anniversary

IRATA.ONLINE, a modern PLATO server and terminals

ATARI PLATO Users Guide version 3.1 (1983)

ANTIC Episode 49 – Thomas Cherryhomes and PLATO

ANTIC Interview 10 – Mark Rustad

ANTIC Interview 117 – Landon Dyer

ANTIC Interview 183 – Lane Winner

Early versions of Atari PLATO released

PLATO on Wikipedia

Vince Wu – Follow the Arc of Justice

Vincent Wu's birthday memories—jailed at Selma in 1965, worked security for MLK at the March finale

ANTIC Interview 464 - Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group13 sept. 202601:25:54
Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs

Walt Klappert worked at Atari's Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs in New York, and later at Take One Enterprises in California. He worked with Nancy and Steve Mayer on a variety of projects with a concentration on creating software for girls. He is credited as Director of "Fisher Price Dance Fantasy", a dance choreography game for small children. He also worked on a system for authoring CD+G, an enhancement to the compact disc spec that allowed graphics and lyrics to be displayed synchronized with music.

This interview took place on August 14, 2026.

Video version of this interview

Walt's YouTube page

Dance Fantasy at AtariMania 
ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer
ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode10 sept. 202601:37:09

ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We trip all over our own tongues trying to bring you all the news fit to print in the Atari 8-bit computer world…

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

Recent Interview Shows 

New & Updated Games

New & Updated Software

Publications

New & Updated Hardware

The Company That Calls Itself Atari

Other

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org 

New at Github

Feedback

ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer30 août 202600:49:39

Steve Bryson, game programmer

Steve Bryson was a programmer for EPYX and The Connelley Group, where he ported many games to various 8-bit systems. He ported Dragonriders of Pern, an action/strategy game based on the Anne McCaffrey novels, to Atari and Commodore 64. He ported Jumpman to the Apple II, and Lower Reaches of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Temple of Ra to the C64.

This interview took place on August 5, 2026.

Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/SdK56W9bd6Y

Steve's personal web site: https://www.stevepur.com

Randy Glover, Jumpman interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i171/i171-transcript.html

Tom Zimmerman, AMY chip interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i431/i431-transcript.html

Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i070/i070-transcript.html

Dragonriders of Pern at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/a8b_Dragonriders_of_Pern_The_1983_Epyx_US

Dragonriders of Pern at AtariMania: https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-dragonriders-of-pern_1723.html

ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari15 août 202600:25:09
Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari   Bob Fraser worked at Atari for four years: he worked on the early CX70 light pen, helped write the specs for an unreleased database manager for the Atari 8-bits. and later moved into Atari's Games Design Research Group under Alan Kay, where he experimented with 3-D graphics. He wrote a chapter of De Re Atari — chapter 7, all about sound — and two applications that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Supersort, a data sorting routine; and Insomnia, a sound editor.

Supersort was APX catalog number 20030, and was for sale starting with the first APX catalog, summer 1981. Insomnia was catalog number 20073 and was available about six months later in the winter 1981 catalog.

The CX70 light pen: it's rare — according to AtariWiki, it was only offered by Atari for a few months in 1981. After our interview, Bob sent me his: prototype #2. He also sent me a lot of floppy disks (around 70) which I was able to get the data off of. They include many of his 3-D rendering demonstrations, source code for an early version of the Ballsong demo, several early versions of Mike Lorenzen's MEDIT text editor, light pen software, internal development tools, and more. I've put them all online, have fun digging through them.

This interview took place on June 10, 2026.

Video version of this interview

Download Bob's disks, and conversation about them

Supersort in the summer 1981 APX catalog

Supersort at Atarimania

Insomnia in the winter 1981 APX catalog

Insomnia at Atarimania 
De Re Atari

CX70 Light Pen at AtariWiki

CX70 discussion at AtariAge

Invest like a Billionaire by Bob Fraser

Dale Yocum interview

Chris Crawford interview

Douglas Crockford interview
ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System02 août 202600:25:15

James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System

James W. Burley is the programmer of Data Base/Report System, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange beginning with the Summer 1982 APX catalog. It was catalog number 20134 with a price of $22.95. APX sold it for about a year, through the Summer 1983 catalog.

APX awarded Data Base/Report System first prize for new software in the "Business & Professional Applications/Personal Finance & Record Keeping" category: for that, James was awarded an Atari Star plaque and $2000 prize. (He received the plaque, but says he never received the money.) The software may have also been sold by Main Street Publishing.

Here's what the APX catalog had to say:

Data Base/Report System by James W. Burley
Recommended for experienced data base users/Written in BASIC and machine language

If you've ever used a data base manager on a large computer system, you'll appreciate the many features of DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM. This general-purpose system for ATARI 800 Home Computers creates and maintains records having up to ten units of information ("fields"), with a maximum field length of 100 characters and a maximum record length of 255 characters. The total number of records you can store varies with record key size, a key being the unique identifier for each record) and available computer memory. Generally, you can store about 1300 records having a five-character key on a system with 40K of memory.

You use the main program to create a new file; add, update, and remove records; sort the file; and print reports. Auxiliary programs reorganize the data files to free unused diskette space; redefine the file by adding fields, modifying field sizes, or changing field headings; delete old files; and print special reports.

... These and other features make DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM a really versatile data base management system for your ATARI 800 Home Computer.

REVIEW COMMENTS: You need some data base knowledge to use the program; it's a bit complex, but all the features are worthwhile. The print formatting and file reorganization features are very useful. The sort and search routines, written in assembly language, work quickly.

In 1983, Antic magazine featured the program as one of the "Ten Best from APX". In 2024, Wade at the Inverse ATASCII podcast did a deep dive into Data Base/Report System: check the show notes for the link to that review, which includes dozens of screenshots, sample print output, and information about the database's file format. Wade gave the software a rating of 5 out of 8.

As of this recording, the Atari community doesn't yet have a scan of the APX manual for Data Base/Report System: if you have a copy, let me know, or scan it and upload it to Internet Archive. The Main Street Publishing version — both disk and manual — are also not preserved.

This interview took place on May 22, 2026.

Data Base/Report System at AtariMania

Data Base/Report System in the APX Summer 1982 APX catalog

Antic Magazine - February 1983 - Ten Best from APX

Inverse ATASCII reviews Data Base/Report System

ANTIC Interview 460 - Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette19 juil. 202600:28:39

Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette with an Atari Computer

Tim Jenkins is the author of several humorous memoirs: "Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way", "More Missions Accomplished: And a lot more funny business", and "Business Missions Accomplished: Silly travel tales on the corporate dime".

I wanted to talk to Tim about one chapter in his 2018 book More Missions Accomplished: the chapter is titled "Gaming the System" and it tells the tale of him trying to cheat a roulette using his Atari 800 computer.

A brief excerpt from that chapter:

"Las Vegas — 1989. Shortly after the dawn of the personal computer revolution, opportunity beckoned. Some people wrote software and sold it over retail counters. Others launched services that harnessed the databasing and processing power of the PC to help people find a job, a date, or other people with the same interests. I put my own Atari 800 computer to work simulating roulette. ...

If you kept increasing your bet every time you lost a spin of the wheel, eventually your number would come up: The question was, would you earn back all the money you'd previously lost and make a profit? Yes. That is, you would if you did not first run into the table limit. ...  How to get there without hitting the max bet? That's what I set out to simulate on my Atari computer. ... The program showed this to be a winning strategy, if perfectly executed."

This interview took place on May 22, 2025.

More Missions Accomplished at amazon: https://amzn.to/446MrVP

At Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moremissionsacco0000timj/page/138/mode/2up

Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/EW-pDXlBDQg

ANTIC Interview 459 - Mike Lorenzen: Atari Program-Text Editor, Pitfall II05 juil. 202602:28:27

Mike Lorenzen: Atari Program-Text Editor, Pitfall II

Mike Lorenzen worked at Atari, Activision, and Accolade, creating games for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, and Commodore 64 computers.

At Atari, Mike coded Golf and Circus Atari for the Atari 2600. For the 8-bit computers, he wrote MEDIT (which he told me stands for Mike's EDITor.) Atari got a lot of mileage from MEDIT, using versions of that text editor in several products: first, in Atari Program-Text Editor (which was bundled with Atari's Macro Assembler), and in two Atari Program Exchange products: APX 20075, Atari Program-Text Editor; and APX 20076: Word Processing Diskette, where it was bundled with a text formatter.

Both Program-Text Editor and Word Processing Diskette first appeared in the Winter 1981 APX catalog (the second APX catalog) with a price of $39.95 for Program-Text Editor and $49.95 for Word Processing Diskette — relatively hefty prices, considering the median price for software in that catalog was just $17.95.

At Activision, he ported Pitfall and Pitfall II Lost Caverns to the Atari 8-bit — and in that, created the undocumented Easter egg of an additional game inside: Pitfall III, which appears only in the Atari 8-bit version.

At Accolade, Mike developed the game "Psi-5 Trading Company" for the C64, which he called "the most sophisticated Commodore 64 program ever written".

This interview took place on June 4, 2026.

Software mentioned:
Macro Assembler and Program-Text Editor at AtariMania
APX 20075: Atari Program-Text Editor at AtariMania
APX 20076: Word Processing Diskette at AtariMania
Pitfall at AtariMania

Pitfall II Lost Caverns at AtariMania

People mentioned:
Scott Scheiman interview
Dale Yocum interview
Chris Crawford interview
Fred Thorlin interview
Brad Fregger on Lorenzen's overwork

More information:
Inverse ATASCII reviews APX Program-Text Editor
AtariWiki on Program-Text Editor
Psi-5 Trading Company
ANTIC Episode 129 - SDX and FNSlots30 juin 202601:43:05

ANTIC Episode 129 - SDX and FNSlots

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast…Brad plays around with SDX, Kay and Randy bring you news from some vintage computer shows, we drool over all the new hardware news, and we bring you FujiNet news, including FNSlots…

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

Recent Interviews

New & Updated Games

New & Updated Software

Publications

https://abbuc.de/members/download/ABBUC-Magazines/Magazine-164/index.html 

New & Updated Hardware

The Company That Calls Itself Atari

Other

Upcoming Shows

New at Archive.org 

YouTube Videos

New at Github

 

ANTIC Interview 458 - Allan Bushman, Atari archivist21 juin 202600:37:04

Allan Bushman, Atari Archivist

If you've ever looked up an Atari computer manual at Internet Archive, chances are you've come across some of Allan Bushman's scans. For well over 13 years, Allan has been uploading scans of Atari-related catalogs, manuals, and books to the archive. Before that, since 1995 or before, Allan contributed to AtariMagazines.com and AtariMania. With a particular emphasis on finding and archiving Atari Program Exchange manuals, Allan has helped save the vast majority of the APX library.

This interview took place on April 19 2026 at Vintage Computer Festival East.

As of this recording, only 10 or so APX manuals have yet to be found and scanned.

Basic Renumber Utility (Renum)
Character Set Editor
Database/Report System
Diskmenu Home Loan Analysis
Reversi/Roman Checkers
Basic Arithmetic (MECC)
Geography (MECC)
Market Place (MECC)
Gossip (unreleased?)
Dragons Quest or a Twist in the Tail (unreleased?)


Allan's scans at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/@allan52

Computer Shopper magazine Atari Articles: https://archive.org/details/@allan52?query=computer+shopper+atari+articles

Allan on AtariAge: https://forums.atariage.com/profile/187-allan/

ANTIC Interview 457 - Atari at the Science Fair: Lisa Link Melville, Weather Prediction06 juin 202600:21:40

Atari at the Science Fair: Lisa Link Melville, Weather Prediction

The Herald Times newspaper, April 17 1984: "March 24 proved to be an exciting day for several area students participating in the South Central Indiana Regional Science Fair which was held in Bloomington.

Lisa Link, an Edgewood High School junior, and Maxwell Brothers, a Bloomington North senior, took top honors in the advanced division.

Programming an Atari 800 computer to forecast the weather was Link's project. The computer's entire 48K memory system was needed to develop the long and complicated program which predicts Bloomington's weather with an 88 percent rate of accuracy. Twelve variables are programmed into the computer which then forecasts the weather using such variables including temperature, cloud cover, rainfall, wind speed and barometric pressure.

Link, though not presently enrolled in any science classes at Edgewood, went on to take not only top honors in the Regional Science Fair but also to win certificates of recognition from NASA and the Army as well as second place for best project by the Navy."

An article a month later in The Newark Advocate said: "during a 17-day period in February and March, Miss Link said she accurately forecast the weather on 15 days."

Her project garnered several awards: second place in her division from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (which included a prize of $100), an Air Force honorable mention, and honorable mention from the American Meteorological Society.

My interview with Lisa Link Melville took place on May 31 2026.

Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/nqJV_--YVkM
ANTIC Episode 128 - Stepping in a Pile of 800XLs26 mai 202602:00:33

ANTIC Episode 128 - Stepping in a Pile of 800XLs

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… special guest Rob McMullen (Player/Missile Podcast) joins us to talk about all the Atari 8-bit news; such as new and updated emulators, Jumpman level editor, Club Med and the Atari, and a whole lot more!

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

New & Updated Games

New & Updated Software

Publications

The Company That Calls Itself Atari

New & Updated Hardware

Other

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Github

ANTIC Episode 127 - Brad's 76K Brain15 avr. 202601:28:14

ANTIC Episode 127 - Brad's 76K Brain

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we turn the podcast into more of a multi-media experience, we cover a LOT of new and updated utility software for the Atari 8-bit, and Kay accuses Brad of having a 76K brain!

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

New & Updated Games

New & Updated Software

Publications

New & Updated Hardware

Contests

Other

Upcoming Computer Shows

YouTube Videos

Commercial

New at Github

Feedback

ANTIC Episode 126 - All Atari All the Time17 mars 202601:39:56

ANTIC Episode 126 - All Atari All The Time

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We bring in special guest Paulo Garcia, author of the incredible FujiSan emulator, and bring you all the Atari news we can find.

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

New & Updated Games

New & Updated Software

Publications

Contests

Other

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org 

Commercial

Feedback

Paulo's Information

 

ANTIC Episode 125 - Combining SQL with Fun (and Poo)17 févr. 202601:38:33

ANTIC Episode 125 - "Combining SQL with Fun (and Poo)"

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Wade Ripkowski comes onto the show and gives us an update on his work to bring SQL to the Atari (and an extremely useful poo management tool!), we cover good news concerning the Curt Vendel Atari collection, we report on an exciting updated browser-based emulator, a huge update to AspeQT, and a whole lot more!!
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

New & Updated Games

New & Updated non-Game Software

Publications

New & Updated Hardware

Contests

Other

Upcoming Shows (thru May, 2026)

YouTube Videos

Feedback

Wade Ripkowski Contact Information

 

ANTIC Episode 124 - Atari 8-bit - The Computer of Love12 janv. 202601:46:06

ANTIC Episode 124

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We have lots of game news and  emulator updates, Brad imitates a pirate, and Kay tells us that the Atari 8-bit is the "Computer of Love"!

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

New and Updated Games

New and Updated Software

Publications

New and Updated Hardware

Other

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Github 

Listener Feedback

 

ANTIC Episode 123 - Steampunk Atari11 déc. 202501:31:35

ANTIC Episode 123 - Steampunk Atari

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Lots of Holiday Buyer's Guide action, news of recovered software, FujiNet news galore, and Brad does steampunk Atari…

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 

Links for Items Mentioned in Show:

What we've been up to

News

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org 

New at GitHub

Feedback

ANTIC Episode 122 - Atypical Kay28 oct. 202501:24:49

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

News

Upcoming Shows

2025

2026

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org 

New at GitHub

Feedback

ANTIC Episode 121 - Dongle Disaster24 sept. 202501:23:08

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

News

Newsletter News

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org

Listener Feedback

 

ANTIC Episode 120 - AI Non Grata28 août 202501:25:30

ANTIC Episode 120 - AI Non Grata

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Kay discusses a big Atari haul, we get an Atari report from VCF West, we discuss a new Atari 8-bit emulator, and Kay bans AI-generated content from the podcast …

READY!

Recurring Links 

Floppy Days Podcast 

AtariArchives.org 

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New Atari books scans at archive.org 

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ANTIC Episode 119 - Special Guest Joe Decuir30 juil. 202501:38:42

ANTIC Episode 119 - Special Guest Joe Decuir

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Joe Decuir, one of the fathers of the Atari 400/800, joins us for a super-interesting discussion of what he's working on and the current Atari news…
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 

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ANTIC Episode 118 - Trigger Warning30 juin 202501:28:12

ANTIC Episode 118 - Trigger Warning

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast…we have lots of user feedback and user projects to report on, we talk about a postage stamp-sized Atari computer, and (trigger warning!) there are a couple of Commodore references… 

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 

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ANTIC Episode 117 - A Kiss on the Forehead07 juin 202501:01:36

ANTIC Episode 117

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… lots of scanning talk, more new games for the Atari than you can shake a stick at, and how to win a kiss on the forehead…

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 

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ANTIC Episode 116 - AI-Generated Nonsense30 avr. 202501:40:30

ANTIC Episode 116

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we talk about all the Atari things we did this month and discuss all the "AI-generated nonsense" going on in the Atari world…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 

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Next Without For 

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ANTIC Interview 456 - Stanley R. Trost, Electronic Arts Financial Cookbook26 mars 202500:28:37
Stanley Trost, Electronic Arts Financial Cookbook    Stanley R. Trost wrote several books about early microcomputers, including Atari BASIC Programs in Minutes, Doing Business with VisiCalc, Multiplan on the Commodore 64, Useful Basic Programs the for IBM PC, VisiCalc for Science and Engineering, and others. He was also the creator of Financial Cookbook, which was published by Electronic Arts in 1984 (and one of only two "home management" titles released by EA, the other being Cut and Paste, "the Remarkably Simple Word Processor").   Financial Cookbook provided 32 financial calculators and decision-making tools, including understanding your marginal tax rate, living on your savings, how much life insurance you need, variable rate mortgages, and so on. Versions of the program were sold for Atari 8-bit and ST, Apple II, Commodore 64, Macintosh, and perhaps other platforms.   This interview took place on March 24, 2025.   Atari BASIC Programs in Minutes    Doing Business with VisiCalc    Financial Cookbook at AtariMania    Inverse ATASCII podcast about Financial Cookbook, including many screenshots    Video version of this interview    Support Kay's interviews on Patreon 
ANTIC Interview 455 - Bill and David Lappen, Buy-Phone15 mars 202500:48:17
Bill and David Lappen, Buy-Phone   It's a dangerous game in the computer history field to call anything the "first." But Buy-Phone is a very strong contender call itself the first online yellow pages. Years before before Yahoo!, before Craigslist, Buy-Phone was a text-based dial-up service — available at 300 and 1200 bits per second — that provided business listings, movie times, and personal ads, all for free to callers. The service launched in late 1982 and was limited to the West Los Angeles area. Buy-Phone was the brainchild of brothers Bill and David Lappen.   Here's what the August 1984 issue of IEEE Computer wrote:    "Buy-Phone's "electronic yellow pages" service for Los Angeles is answering over 3000 consumer requests per day, on any thing trom movies to restaurants to auto repair - and the best part? It's all free. The philosophy was to provide sponsored information paid for by the advertiser, not the consumer. The computer organizes over 10,000 listings to respond exactly to the caller's request. According to the company, the system had to be easy for computer novices to operate, yet powerful enough to be of value. Four proficiency levels are used, each introducing additional features. Beginning users see only six different categories of listings (restaurants arranged by price or nationality, movie schedules, plays...). As users advance, they see an expanded list and are shown how to formulate a search. Retrieved listings are arranged by their distance from the user, with the closest shown first. Expert users are able to specify the time and day they want to buy an item and get information only about stores that are open then. Buy-Phone is now testing expansion to determine how difficult it will be to create similar systems in other cities. To discover Buy-Phone's service call (213) 474-0270 (300 baud), (213) 470-4679 (1200 baud). Access assistance is available at (213) 474-2220."   I interviewed Buy-Phone founders Bill and David Lappen on March 14, 2025.   Video version of this interview   Buy-Phone advertisements, clippings, and ephemera   Buy-Phone Computer Consulting web site   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon
ANTIC Episode 115 - Exhausting Games for your Atari10 mars 202501:28:05

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 

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 

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AHCS 

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Next Without For 

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ANTIC Interview 454 - Steve Kranish, Parker Brothers Frogger06 mars 202501:26:36
Steve Kranish, Parker Brothers Frogger   Steve Kranish is the creator of the Atari 8-bit and Atari 5200 versions of Frogger, the versions published by Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers had the rights to publish cartridge versions of Frogger. Sierra On-Line had already published versions of Frogger on floppy disk and cassette, so Parker Brothers bought the rights to use that version as the basis for its cartridge version. But there were a few problems: for one, the 13K cassette game would need to be shrunk to fit on an 8K cartridge. Another: the source code was lost.   Steve also worked on an Atari 8-bit version of the board game Risk, and a game called Baker's Dozen, both of which were unfinished. He also worked on Project Zelda, Parker Brothers investigation into distributing Atari VCS games via cable television.    This interview took place on March 2, 2025. In 2016, I interviewed John Harris, who programmed the Sierra Online version of Frogger (as well as Jawbreaker and Mouskattack). Check the show notes for the link to that.   Video version of this interview   2007 interview with Steve at Atari Compendium   Steve's games at AtariMania   Steve on Atariage   ANTIC Interview 200 - John Harris: Jawbreaker, Frogger, Mouskattack   Support Kay on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 453 - Giann Velasquez, Atariteca18 févr. 202500:31:13

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.

 

ANTIC Episode 114 - Andy Diller Returns!28 janv. 202501:37:10

ANTIC Episode 114 - Andy Diller Returns!

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we have special guest Andy Diller for a FujiNet update and to let us know about all the great things he's working on…

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 

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Next Without For 

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Closing

 

ANTIC Interview 452 - Dean Garraghty, DGS Software23 janv. 202500:32:27

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

 

ANTIC Episode 113 - Feeling Fancy!04 janv. 202501:05:08

ANTIC Episode 113 - Feeling Fancy!

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… The clear case Kickstarter doesn't make it, lots of FujiNet news, and we end the year 2024 with a bang by bringing you all the rest of the Atari news; all while Kay is feeling fancy…

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 

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ANTIC Interview 451 - Daniel Serpell, FastBasic30 déc. 202400:39:00
Daniel Serpell (dmsc), Creator of FastBasic   Daniel Serpell (dmsc) is the creator of FastBasic, a modern implementation of the BASIC programming language for the Atari 8-bit computers. He released the first version to the public in 2017. Today, the GPL-licensed language is up to version 4.6, and is a favorite of 10-line BASIC game contest entrants and anyone who wants a speedy, modern take on Atari programming.    I'm going to crib from AtariWiki's description of FastBasic: "It is a complete re-implementation of the BASIC system, using a built-in bytecode compiler rather than a tokenizing interpreter. Typical BASICs use an interpreter that examines every line of code as the program runs. ... FastBasic works on an entirely different principle. When a line is parsed in FastBasic, it (essentially) compiles the entire line into tokens and then leaves them in memory. This way the line does not have to be repeatedly parsed, even from the simplified token format, which makes it much faster to run."   FastBasic has other enhancements, including new commands for player-missiles and communicating with FujiNet, an option to only use faster integer math instead of floating point, and structured programming instead of line numbers.   This interview took place on December 21, 2024.   Video version of this interview   FastBasic at github   FastBasic at AtariWiki   10-line BASIC Contest   Daniel at atariage   Viña del Mar, Chile   BW-DOS   ANTIC Interview 436 - Rodrigo Castro, Atari in Chile   FastBasic Debugger Extension for VSCode   Support Kay's interview on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 450 - Robert Leyland: AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, MicroIllustrator25 déc. 202401:04:28
Robert Leyland: AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, MicroIllustrator   Robert Leyland programmed AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, and MicroIllustrator (along with Steve Dompier) - the graphics applications that worked with KoalaPad, Atari Touch Tablet, and Chalk Board PowerPad drawing tablets. Prior to that, he programmed The Dragon's Eye (published by Automated Simulations/EPYX), Murder on the Zinderneuf (published by Electronic Arts) and, with Jaron Lanier, the Atari version of Alien Garden for Automated Simulations.   This interview took place on January 21, 2023.   Video version of this interview   Robert's utilities at AtariMania   Robert's games at AtariMania   ANTIC Interview 104 - Aric Wilmunder, Star Raiders II, Temple of Apshai   ANTIC Interview 70 - Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates   De Re Atari   Support Kay's interview on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 449 - Tim Boehlert, Atari's WCI Labs Division20 déc. 202400:54:39
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.   Video version of this interview   ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer   ANTIC Interview 332 - Mike Matthews, Alien Group Voice Box   ANTIC Interview 383 - Gregg Squires, Atari Manager of Hardware Engineering   Strong Museum of Play   Support Kay's interview on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 448 - Frank Foster, Hybrid Arts13 déc. 202400:58:14
Frank Foster, Hybrid Arts   Frank Foster was one of the founders of Hybrid Arts, the company that made MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) hardware and software for Atari 8-bit and Atari ST computers. Frank was in charge of marketing for the company. After Hybrid Arts, Frank headed the music division at Atari, where he build marketing partnerships with Tangerine Dream, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, and other musicians.   I talked with two of the other Hybrid Arts founders, Robert Moore and Paul Rother, in my previous interview.   This interview took place on February 20, 2024.    Video version of this interview   My interview with Robert Moore and Paul Rother   Hotz MIDI Translator: Atari Team Redefines Electronic Instruments   Frank Foster Biography   Frank's SIGGRAPH documentary on computer graphics   Hybrid Arts Timeline, Founders, and Goals document by Robert Moore   Midi Maze at AtariMania   ANTIC Interview 434 - Michael Park: Swan and Fujiboink Demos, MIDI Maze   ANTIC Interview 193 - Gary Yost, The Catalog and Cyber Studio   Support Kay's interview on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 447 - Robert Moore and Paul Rother, Hybrid Arts MIDIMate11 déc. 202401:00:59
Robert Moore and Paul Rother, Hybrid Arts MIDIMate   Robert Moore and Paul Rother were two of the founders of Hybrid Arts, along with Frank Foster and Alan Hart. Hybrid Arts created the MIDIMate, hardware that added Musical Instrument Digital Interface capability to the the Atari 8-bit computers; and various software for it including MIDITrack. Hybrid Arts continued on to make a wide variety of MIDI and music software for the Atari ST (which has built-in MIDI) including EZ-Track.   Paul was the programmer, Robert the music and sales person, and Frank Foster was the marketing person. Frank couldn't make it to this interview due to scheduling issues, but he'll be in my next interview.    This interview took place on January 18, 2024.   Video version of this interview   Hybrid Arts Timeline, Founders, and Goals document by Robert Moore   Hybrid Arts - Revolutionize the Process of Modern Movie Making   Hybrid Arts on Computer Chronicles (starts at 8 minutes)   8-bit Hybrid Arts software at AtariMania   Atari ST Hybrid Arts software at AtariMania   MIDI Track III Manual   Midipatch: DX Editor for Yamaha DX manual   mt-32pi Roland MT-32 emulator   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 446 - Mary Eisenhart, MicroTimes magazine30 nov. 202401:20:29
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.   Video version of this interview at YouTube   MicroTimes at Internet Archive [NEEDED for scanning: Volume 2 Number 12, most of Volume 3]   Mary's web site   BAM Magazine in Wikipedia   Hedy Lamarr issue   Kay's first published article   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon
ANTIC Episode 112 - Keeping Warm with Sweaters and Hot Sauce26 nov. 202401:14:48

ANTIC Episode 112

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we have several Christmas ideas for you, we tell you about projects that would allow creating a new reproduction Atari 800XL, and we wet our appetites for the current Atari's hot sauce while wearing their ugly Christmas sweater …

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 

Links for Items Mentioned in Show:

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Recent Interview Shows

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REMAINING IN 2024

2025

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A Word From Our Sponsor

New at GitHub

 

ANTIC Interview 445 - Vince Cate, The Critical Connection22 nov. 202400:31:04
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.   Video version of this interview on YouTube       Vince's web site   Vince in Wikipedia   Critical Connection review in ANALOG magazine 1986-02   CC version 1 in Antic   XL version in Antic   In Byte 1983-09   In Dr. Dobbs Journal 1983-09   Critical Connection at AtariMania   ANTIC Interview 444 - Nick Kennedy, SIO2PC and ATR    Critical Connection source code    Support Kay's interviews on Patreon 
ANTIC Interview 444 - Nick Kennedy, SIO2PC and ATR15 nov. 202400:54:04
Nick Kennedy, SIO2PC and the ATR File Format   Nick Kennedy is the creator of SIO2PC, the hardware and software combination that allowed Atari 8-bit computer users to use a PC as a peripheral. In 1989, this was unprecedented, a new way to connect the little Atari to the bigger world, to the (relatively) massive storage and speed of a computer running PC-DOS. For the first time, Ataris could use a PC as storage, RAM disk, and printer. Nick also created the .ATR file format, which quickly became the standard for using virtual floppy disks on Atari emulators.   Nick also created 10502PC, a cable that let you connect an Atari floppy drive directly to a PC; and AtariCOM, a less well-known utility that allowed two Atari 8-Bit computers to communicate using the SIO and joystick ports. And, he created Atari-based amateur radio tools: a terminal program for packet radio, and Morse code keyer software, which he and I talked about in detail in our previous interview.   This interview took place on November 1, 2024.   Video version of this interview on YouTube   Nick's web site   Nick's SIO2PC page   Previous interview with Nick about ham radio: ANTIC Interview 441 - Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer   ANTIC Interview 144 - Stephen Lawrow, Mac/65 assembler   Bob Woolley's Review of SIO2PC in Atari Interface Magazine 1991-01   1993 Atari Classics article: SIO2PC: Slave An IBM To Your 8-Bit   The .ATR File Format   ANTIC Interview 441 - Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer   AtariCom software   DAK catalogs   Best Electronics   Mapping the Atari by Ian Chadwick   AtariMax APE and ProSystem   Old Hackers Atari User Group newsletter disks   Nick Kennedy on AtariAge   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 443 - Rick Reaser, Current Notes Magazine08 nov. 202400:50:50
Rick Reaser, Current Notes Magazine's 8-bit Editor   Rick Reaser was the 8-bit Editor of Current Notes Magazine, a popular magazine dedicated to the Atari computers. He began in 1992, and wrote a column called 8-Bit Tidbits. Rick used his Atari 8-bit computer exclusively through his college years and for programming for grad school. He was also president of P3ACE - Pikes Peak Poke Atari Computer Enthusiasts - a user group serving the Colorado Springs area.   This interview took place on February 11, 2023.   Video version of this interview at YouTube   P3ACE newsletters   Rick's "Atari Revolution" quote   Current Notes at Internet Archive   The Current Notes issue Kay received from Rick   Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth   Rick's letter to Antic Magazine Volume 7 Number 11 "My kids love Talking Toddle"   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 442 - Bob Stein, Atari Research01 nov. 202400:56:48
Bob Stein, Atari's Encyclopedia Project   Bob Stein worked at Atari Research for 18 months beginning in 1981. He was hired by Alan Kay. He worked almost exclusively on an encyclopedia project, a potential collaboration between Atari and Encyclopaedia Britannica that never went anywhere.   I learned about Bob after he uploaded an item called The Atari Drawings to Internet Archive. It's a collection of nine colorful pencil drawings, drawn in 1982 by Disney animator Glen Keane. The drawings depict futuristic scenarios where people use a computerized encyclopedia to get information: for instance, "An earthquake wakes a couple in the middle of the night. The Intelligent Encyclopedia, connected to an online service, informs them of the severity of the earthquake and makes safety tips readily available." and "A mother and her children looking into a tidepool in Laguna ask the Intelligent Encyclopedia about the plants and animals that they see."   Bob described the collection of art in his introduction to the document:   "In 1982 executives from Warner, Inc., Atari's parent company, were scheduled to visit the Research Lab where the Encyclopedia Project was located. Brenda Laurel and I came up with these scenarios to give the execs a sense of what we were working toward. The drawings were made by Disney animator, Glen Keane.   When you look at these, remember they were made 16 years before Google and 12 years before Yahoo, even 8 years before the earliest web-based search engines.   That said, one of the most interesting things about these scenarios as seen today, is that with the exception of the image of the architect and the teacher none of them indicated any inkling that the most important element of the web to come was that it would bring people into contact with each other. What we see here is almost entirely people accessing content from a central server, no sense that we would be communicating with each other or uploading our own contributions to the collective culture. My own explanation for this lapse focuses on the print-era mentality that saw readers purely as consumers of content."   Bob saved and scanned a large number of materials from his time at Atari, and uploaded them to Internet Archive. In addition to the scans of Keane's Atari Drawings, the documents include memos about the encyclopedia project and a transcript of a 1982 seminar for Atari Research featuring Charles Van Doren. Check the show notes for those links.   After Atari, Bob was co-founder of The Criterion Collection, which restores and distributes important classic films; and co-founder of The Voyager Company, the first commercial multimedia CD-ROM publisher. In 2004, he co-founded The Institute for the Future of the Book, a think tank "investigating the evolution of discourse as it shifts from printed pages to networked screens."   This interview took place December 16, 2023.   Video version of this interview at YouTube   The Atari Drawings   ANTIC Interview 420 - Brenda Laurel, Atari Research   Whither The Encyclopedia Project - Atari Encyclopedia Project memos   Back to the Future -- In honor of Encyclopedia Britannica giving up its print edition (Wayback machine)   Stein Kay Atari Memos Pt 1   Stein Kay Atari Memos Pt 2   Exchange With Steve Weyer And J. David Bolter 1983   Hadley Letter 1980-12-01   Atari...Ifugao Question Journal, Michael Naimark   CVD Atari Seminar 20 December 1982   Encyclopedia And The Intellectual Tools Of The Future . . . November 1981   Bob Stein Archives at Stanford   The Digital Antiquarian — Bob Stein and Voyager   Charles Van Doren in Wikipedia   Bob Stein wants to change how people think about the book (2010)
ANTIC Episode 111 - Is Kay Really Funny, or is it Just a Courtesy Snicker?27 oct. 202400:56:30

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 

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

Recent Interviews

News

Upcoming Shows

YouTube Videos

New at Archive.org 

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ANTIC Interview 441 - Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer26 oct. 202400:35:41
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.   Video version of this interview   Keyer software and source code at Internet Archive   Ham Terminal software (with source code) at Internet Archive   Various amateur radio software for for Atari 8-bit   Nick interviewed by the QSO Today podcast in 2015   Nick's keyer article in Solid Copy   Nick's web site   Ad Astra magazine   Pat Kennedy's tank game   Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon
ANTIC Interview 440 - Ed Sabo, UltraBASIC18 oct. 202400:35:17
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   Tank Math: https://archive.org/details/tank-math-ultra-basic/   Super Frogs: https://archive.org/details/super-frogs-ultra-basic/   Funspeller: https://archive.org/details/superfrogs-funspeller-ultra-basic/   Track Stack: https://archive.org/details/TrackStackUltraBasic/   List of Ultrabasic games at Atarimania   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
ANTIC Interview 439 - Making Modern Atari Hardware30 sept. 202400:43:02
Two Interviews about Making Modern Atari Hardware   In this interview episode, there are interviews with two people creating today's Atari hardware: the Atari 400 Mini and other modern reboots of retro consoles such as the Atari 7800+.    First, an interview with Matthew Burnett, Vice President of Strategic Operations at Atari — the guy in charge of Atari's new hardware. We discuss how the Atari 400 Mini came to market.   Then, I interview Ben Jones, Commercial Director for Plaion, a manufacturing and distribution company that was involved with the creation of the 400 Mini and 7800 Plus as well as other retro computing hardware like the C64 Mini and the A500 (Amiga) Mini.   These interviews took place on September 27 2024 at Portland Retro Gaming Expo.   Atari 400 Mini: https://atari.com/products/atari-400-mini-1 Atari 7800+: https://atari.com/products/atari-7800
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