The Famous Computer Cafe 1985-01-08 Bill Atkinson Kay Savetz 2026-09-25 | The Famous Computer Cafe 1985-01-08 Bill Atkinson
Internet Archives Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications Kay Savetz 2022-09-17 | In which I announce the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications project, and solicit donations of items and media for the library. Here is an accompanying handout that you are welcome to print and distribute to interested parties: archive.org/details/dlarc-handoutWhat if anyone could learn from and contribute to the more than 100 years of knowledge underlying amateur radio and digital communications? What if the resources from this century of knowledge production were preserved forever and openly accessible to students, researchers, scholars, and the general public in an online digital library? What if this resource provided free, comprehensive access for a new generation of scholars and enthusiasts? The Internet Archive's Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications will do that.By the way, the Internet Archive stats that I quote in the video are old. Updated numbers: IA stores more than 99 petabytes of unique data: 700 billion web captures, 7 million films and videos, 14 million audio recordings, 38 million texts, over 750,00 pieces of software and 2 million hours of recorded television. (!)
Michael Park: Swan and Fujiboink Demos, MIDI Maze Kay Savetz 2022-05-14 | Michael Park created two well-known demos that are familiar to many Atari enthusiasts: the Swan Demo and FujiBoink. In the Swan demo, a bird flies gracefully across the screen, in front of a spinning fuji logo. In FujiBoink, the Atari fuji spins and bounces over a red and white checkerboard, reminiscent of the Amiga Boing Ball demo.Michael also helped create MIDI Maze, an early first-person shooter that used the Atari ST's MIDI ports to network up to 16 computers. He also worked on the 8-bit version of MIDI Maze, which was never officially released but became available nonetheless. Michael also created Shiny Bubbles, another demo for the Atari ST.Michael was a friend of the owner of Xanth Computer Systems, an Atari dealer in Seattle, Washington. A 2013 article titled "Computer Dealer Demos: Selling Home Computers with Bouncing Balls and Animated Logos," published in the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, stated:"During the 1985 Winter CES, Atari presented the 130XE... This computer was promoted with a demo that included three animations—Atari Robot, Atari Swan, and Fuji Boink—made by a small software company named Xanth FX. The company’s representative claimed in ANALOG Computing magazine, 'We are a large ST retailer. Our F/X division churns out demos for the betterment of Atari.' According to the testimonies of Atari users in Seattle, it was actually a 'small computer store in downtown Seattle' and a small software company that employed a few people, among them programmer and graphic designer Michael A. Park.""Xanth Park" (a play on Xerox PARC) and the "F/X division" were deliberate tricks to make the little company and a one or two great coders, seem like a big company.Michael told me that neither he nor "Xanth Park" created the walking robot demo, another popular demo of the era. "I think we did combine robot/spaceship with the bouncing ball so they'd play sequentially, at Atari's request," he told me. He extracted the rotating fuji code from the Robot demo for re-use in his Swan demo. After the interview, Michael sent an email: "Every now and then I hear from people who have enjoyed the Atari software that I was involved in way back when, and every time, I am reminded of the fun and excitement of those days. To those who have kept the Atari spirit alive all this time, I salute you!"This interview took place on April 6, 2022.Fujiboink! Behind the Bit Planes in START magazine: archive.org/details/STart-Magazine-Issue-02/page/n108/mode/1upComputer Dealer Demos: Selling Home Computers With Bouncing Balls And Animated Logos by Patryk Wasiak: archive.org/details/computer-dealer-demosDemozoo's list of Michael's demos: demozoo.org/sceners/36852Atariage discussion: atariage.com/forums/topic/167314-xanth-park
Scott Savage: Lefty, the Checkers Playing Robot — interview Kay Savetz 2022-04-23 | "Lefty" was the name of the world's first checker-playing robot, which was located at the Omniplex science museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The robot arm would play games of checkers against museum visitors, picking up and moving pieces on a physical checkerboard. Lefty's game logic ran on an Atari 800 computer, which controlled the robot through the joystick port. Lefty was programmed by Scott Savage, the subject of today's interview.Before the interview, Scott digitized his Atari cassette tape with the code for Lefty. The tape had some problems, but Atari community member "atarigrub" successfully recovered the data. Scott also provided scans of several newspaper and magazine articles about Lefty. Both the Lefty program and those articles are available at Internet Archive. Also, be sure to watch the only known video of Lefty in action: Scott and Lefty appeared on the TV show "Dannysday" which aired on KOCO TV in spring 1984.This interview took place on April 14, 2022.Scott and Lefty on Dannysday TV show: youtube.com/watch?v=Crz7SE-DGV0Lefty BASIC program and media mentions: archive.org/details/lefty-the-checker-playing-robotPaper about Lefty (in Spanish): intranet.ceautomatica.es/old/actividades/jornadas/XXIV/documentos/ro/45.pdfScott Savage Techno Scavenger YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/UCzFsdTpaRRH21GOG4dvRYGQOmniplex is now called Science Museum Oklahoma: sciencemuseumok.org
Anthony Ramos: Creepy Caverns, Parrot audio digitizer — interview Kay Savetz 2022-04-16 | Anthony Dandrea is better known to Atari computer enthusiasts as Anthony Ramos. Anthony programmed Creepy Caverns, a type-in BASIC game that was published in Antic magazine's August 1984 issue. Anthony also created the software for Parrot, a $40 4-bit sound sampler and playback package that was marketed by Alpha Systems.In this interview, we discuss George Morrison of Alpha Systems, and Peter Langston of LucasArts, both of whom I have previously interviewed. This interview took place on April 8, 2022. NOTE: Two 10-second sound samples are muted because of YouTube's onerous copyright rules. They are available at the versions of the interview at AtariPodcast.com and Internet Archive.Creepy Caverns in Antic magazine: archive.org/details/1984-08-anticmagazine/page/n61/mode/2upDiscape Atari 8-bit Demo: youtube.com/watch?v=LAYUzE2wMhkDiscape disk image: http://on-int.com/atari/DISCAPE.ATR"Talk is Cheap" by Ed Stuart in Antic magazine: archive.org/details/1983-07-anticmagazine/page/n63/mode/2upParrot manual: http://www.atarimania.com/8bit/files/Parrot_manual.pdfParrot review in Antic magazine: archive.org/details/1987-01-anticmagazine/page/n15/mode/1upCreepy Caverns with sampled audio: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-creepy-caverns_1398.htmlParrot Christmas demo: atariage.com/forums/topic/326238-christmas-demos/?do=findComment&comment=4931139Anthony's Conway's Game of Life: http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-life_2982.html1984 article in Lorain Journal: archive.org/details/anthony-ramos-lorain-journalAnthony on AtariAge: atariage.com/forums/topic/3506-my-15-minutes-of-atari-fameANTIC Interview 367 - George Morrison, Alpha Systems: youtu.be/Zi194HkVWfoANTIC Interview 126 - Peter Langston, LucasArts: youtu.be/KPgVw9wLmi8Ground Kontrol arcade: groundkontrol.com
Tom Zimmerman, Atari AMY chip Kay Savetz 2022-03-12 | Tom Zimmerman worked at Atari from 1982-1984 where he was on the digital audio research team in Atari's Corporate Research Lab in Sunnyvale. There he worked on the AMY chip — a next-generation audio chip. Tom, one of four AMY team members, wrote the 8051 code to control the TTL prototype of the chip. The chip was never released.AMY, which stands for Additive Musical sYnthesis, was originally intended to be part of the Rainbow chipset, which was the core of Atari's next generation of 16-bit microcomputers. Those computers were never finished. Then, the AMY chip was announced to be the centerpiece of the Atari 65XEM, an Atari 8-bit computer with advanced sound capabilities. A prototype of the 65XEM was shown at the 1985 Consumer Electronics Show, but ultimately it was another computer that didn't make it to market. Also: in 1982 Tom filed a patent for a “Data Glove,” a glove with optical sensors to measure the bend of the wearer's fingers. He turned down a $10,000 offer from Atari to buy the rights to the Data Glove. The product would eventually end up at Nintendo, where it became the Nintendo Power Glove.This interview took place on March 7, 2022.65XEM info at AtariMuseum: web.archive.org/web/20210403055752/http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8bits/xe/xe_protos/65xem.htmlAMY chip at AtariMuseum: web.archive.org/web/20210403124903/http://www.atarimuseum.com/computers/8BITS/XL/ASG/Chips/AMY/index.htmlAMY chip info at AtariMax: atarimax.com/jindroush.atari.org/achamy.htmlAMY chip at Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_AMYRainy Day Activities for the Atari book by Nancy Mayer: archive.org/details/ataribooks-rainy-day-activities-for-the-atariANTIC Interview - Dale Yocum: youtu.be/C1jbX0mHPM0ANTIC Interview 199 - Bob Alkire and Steve Saunders, Rainbow GPU: youtu.be/eksHaCtzoHURainbow chipset documentation: archive.org/details/AtariRainbow/Rainbow%20Gold%20Chip%20Specifications%201983-10-28Tom on AtariAge: atariage.com/forums/profile/76652-tom-zimmerman
Scholastic Microzine interviews — Amy Kefauver and Lorri Hopping Kay Savetz 2022-01-10 | Two interviews with people who created Microzine, an educational magazine that was published for Apple ][ computers.Amy Kefauver was an editor at Scholastic from 1985 through 1988, where she was responsible for the creation and production of Scholastic Microzine, a 5-per-year software "magazine" for elementary students grades 4-6. She also created and launched Scholastic Microzine Jr. for K-4 students. Lorri Hopping was a freelance writer/editor, who wrote several Twistaplot games for Microzine, including Escape from Antcatraz.Both interviews took place on July 29, 2015.A partial transcript of these interviews appeared in the September 2015 issue of Juiced.GS magazine (volume 20, Issue 3.) Complete transcripts are available at www.ComputingPioneers.com, a web site that offers transcripts of interviews with computing pioneers. These interviews also ran in audio form in the May 2016 episode (#59) of the Open Apple podcast.Amy Kefauver transcript: computingpioneers.com/index.php/Amy_KefauverLorri Hopping transcript: computingpioneers.com/index.php/Lorri_HoppingLorri's Inanimate Alice project: http://www.inanimatealice.comJuiced.GS magazine: https://juiced.gs/index/v20/i3/Open Apple podcast: http://www.open-apple.net/2016/05/31/show-059-amy-kefauver-lorri-hopping-stuff4yourgsANTIC: The Atari 8-Bit Podcast: http://www.AtariPodcast.comKevin (Kay) Savetz: http://savetz.com
Mark Englebardt, Wayzata Technology — Interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-10 | Mark Englebardt was the founder of Wayzata Technology, a company that was one of the earliest publishers of CD-ROM software. The company was founded in 1991, and produced hundreds of CD-ROM titles before going out of business in 1996. The company's discs were primarily for Macintosh but many worked with all ISO-9660 compatible platforms. Its most popular product was the Wayzata World Factbook, a disc of information about countries and territories around the world. Downloadable versions of more than 80 of Wayzata CD-ROMs are available at the Internet Archive.This interview took place on January 26, 2016.Inc Magazine: Pioneer CD-ROM Maker Hit by Hardball Competition: http://www.inc.com/magazine/19961201/1887.htmlDownloadable versions of Wayzata CD-ROMs at Internet Archive: archive.org/details/wayzatacds
Jim Capparell, Founder of Antic Magazine — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-09 | An interview with Jim Capparell (James Capparell) who was founder and publisher of Antic Magazine, a popular magazine for Atari 8-bit computers. The interview was conducted on August 13, 2013.The full text of Antic magazine is available at atarimagazines.com/anticFull-page image scans of the magazine are available at http://archive.org/details/antic-magazine
Chris Crawford — Eastern Front (1941) and De Re Atari — Interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-09 | An interview with Chris Crawford, who was creator of the Atari 8-bit games Eastern Front (1941), Energy Czar, Scram, Gossip, Excalibur, and Legionnaire. He also created the games Balance of Power, Patton Versus Rommel, Trust & Betrayal, Guns & Butter, Patton Strikes Back, Balance of the Planet, Le Morte D’Arthur. He is co-author of the book De Re Atari and author of The Art of Computer Game Design.The interview was conducted on September 9, 2013.Chris Crawford's web page is at http://www.erasmatazz.com and the source code for some of his programs is available (http://www.erasmatazz.com/library/source-code.html)The full text of De Re Atari is at http://atariarchives.org/dere and http://archive.org/details/ataribooks-de-re-atariMore information about Eastern Front is available: http://www.atariarchives.org/creativeatari/Eastern_Front.php and http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue57/computer_game.htmlAnother interview with Crawford: http://archive.org/details/getlamp-crawford
Mike Albaugh — Atari 400/800 in-store demonstration program — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-08 | An interview with Mike Albaugh, who worked at Atari Corp. for about 25 years and was the programmer of the Atari 400/800 in-store demonstration program.The interview was conducted on November 15, 2013.
Dennis Harkins, APX Message Display Program — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-08 | Dennis Harkins created the Message Display Program for the Atari 400/Atari 800 computers. Message Display Program was a character generator/message display application -- a tool for television studios -- and was distributed by Atari Program Exchange (APX).This interview took place on January 24, 2014.Dennis Harkins Atari Papers: archive.org/details/DennisHarkinsAtariPapersLetters and articles from the files of Dennis Harkins. Also includes an ATR archive of the program itself, compatible with Atari emulators.
Michael Current — Atari 8-bit FAQ — Interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-07 | Interview with Michael Current, publisher of the Atari 8-Bit FAQ. This interview took place on March 17, 2014.Michael's web stie: https://mcurrent.nameAtari 8-bit FAQ: https://mcurrent.name/atari-8-bit/faq.txt
Bill Kendrick: Atari Party, Gem Drop, Tux Paint, XL-Search — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-06 | An interview with Bill Kendrick, father of the Atari Party, author of Gem Drop, and Tux Paint, and maintainer of the XL-Search Atari software search engine.This interview occurred May 23, 2014.Bill's Atari software: http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/atariTux Paint: tuxpaint.orgXL Search, the Atar i8-bit search engine: http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/xlsearch
David Cramer — Western Design Center — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-06 | David Cramer is the VP of Business Development at Western DesignCenter, the company that still, today, manufacturers and sells the6502 chip, the CPU that's at the heart of the Atari 800, Apple ][,Commodore 64, and many other classic computers. In fact, the 6502is used in many modern applications like pacemakers, and it's alsoavailable in development kits for hobbyists, as David explains.This interview occurred on March 27, 2015. Western Design Center: http://westerndesigncenter.com65xx.com: http://65xx.commouser: http://mouser.comJameco Electronics: http://www.jameco.com
JD Casten — Atari 8-bit Game Programmer — Interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-06 | A reading of my email interview with JD Casten. This interview reading was first published in episode 9 of Antic - The Atari 8-Bit Podcast at http://www.AtariPodcast.comThis interview was done via email, and is read by Randy Kindig — you are not hearing JD's voice. The original text of this interview is available at computingpioneers.com/index.php?title=JD_CastenIf you read Antic magazine you’re probably familiar with JD Casten’s games. JD Casten was a prolific author of Atari 8-bit games that appeared in Antic: Risky Rescue, Escape From Epsilon, Advent X-5, Biffdrop, Box-In, Rebound, and Maximillian B.Antic also published the Casten Game Disk (for purchase) which included new versions of some games -- Risky Rescue Industrial Version and Biffdrop Nightmare version -- plus two other games: Nemesis and Crazy Harold’s Adroit Adventure. He also wrote Easy-80, an 80-column driver, and the unpublished Banzai Font Designer. You can download all of those from his website, http://www.jdcasten.infoJD also wrote several other Atari games that were never published -- including Operation Omega, the unfinished follow-up to Escape from Epsilon -- and he has graciously shared them for the first time, in this collection.JD also dug through his archives to provide material for the games that were published in Antic. For instance: for “Risky Rescue” (his first published game) he shared his magazine submission and acceptance letters. For “Escape from Epsilon” (his second game in Antic): the complete map levels, screen-graphic component study, and graphic data notes. For his text adventure, “Advent X-5”: the original map (never before published), object locations key, objects & descriptions list, and commands list. These materials are available here: archive.org/details/JDCastenPapersThe full text of Antic magazine is available at http://www.atarimagazines.com. Full-page image scans of the magazine are available at http://archive.org/details/antic-magazine.
Fred Thorlin, Manager of Atari Program Exchange — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-05 | Interview with Fred Thorlin, manager of Atari Program Exchange (APX).This interview took place March 13, 2014.I also interviewed Fred via e-mail in April 2000: atariarchives.org/APX/thorlininterview.php
Dale Yocum — Atari Program Exchange, Atari Research — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-05 | Interview with Dale Yocum, Atari employee from 1979-1983. Dale was founder and manager of Atari Program Exchange, was Applications Software Supervisor for Atari 400/800, and was Research Engineering Manager at Atari under Alan Kay.This interview took place on August 2, 2014. AtariMania's list of Dale's software: http://www.atarimania.com/list_utilities_atari-400-800-xl-xe-yocum-dale_team_10191_8_U.html
Gray Chang: Dog Daze, Dog Daze Deluxe, Bumpomovs Dogs, Claim Jumper — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-04 | Interview with Gray Chang, creator of Atari 8-bit games Dog Daze, Dog Daze Deluxe, Bumpomov's Dogs, published by Atari Program Exchange; and Claim Jumper, published by Synapse Software. This interview took place August 12, 2014.Gray's web site: http://ataridogdaze.comGray Chang's Claim Jumper Development Notebook: archive.org/details/Atari_Claim_Jumper_Development_NotesAtari Source Code from Gray Chang: archive.org/details/GrayChangAtariSourceCodeInteresting papers that Gray sent me: archive.org/details/GrayChangAtariPapers
John Henson, The New Aladdin Disk Magazine — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-04 | John Henson was editor in chief of The New Aladdin, a disk magazine for Atari 8-bit computers, the Atari ST, and the Amiga.This interview took place on September 12, 2014.Download issues of The New Aladdin: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229627-discovered-the-new-aladdin-collection-disk-magazine/?p=3071457Henson’s new venture, Nuvolibri: http://www.nuvolibri.com
Diane Gaw, Analog Computing Magazine — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-03 | Diane Gaw was managing editor of A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing magazine, one of the first U.S. magazines devoted to the Atari 8-bit computer. This interview took place on December 16, 2014.A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing magazine at AtariMagzaines.com: http://www.atarimagazines.com/analogA.N.A.L.O.G. Computing magazine at archive.org: archive.org/details/analog-computing-magazineJuiced.GS magazine: https://juiced.gs
Mark Rustad, Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium — Interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-03 | Mark Rustad worked at Minnesota EducationalComputing Consortium (MECC) where he developed "Classroom Star",classroom networking hardware for the Atari 8-bits -- a productthat was not released by Atari. Then he worked at Atari 1983-1984as Systems Project Leader, where he troubleshooted the DTMF dialingon the Atari 1030 modem. We also talk about Mark’s work with thePLATO educational computer system. Software provided by Mark: archive.org/details/Rustad_Atari_8bit Classroom Star mentioned in Creative Computing magazine: http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n7/206_The_1450_XLD_is_not_dead.php
Dave Small, Atari columnist, Magic Sac, Spectre GCR — Interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-02 | Dave Small was half of the prolific writing and software team Dave and Sandy Small. He wrote the Outpost: Atari column in Creative Computing magazine, and the book Creative Atari. He also wrote for ANALOG, Antic, and Current Notes magazines. He was co-founder of LE Systems, a company that made disk duplicating hardware and the Integrator hard drive interface; and Gadgets By Small. He created Magic Sac and Spectre GCR, emulators that let you run Mac software on the Atari ST. He and Sandy developed a pair of Atari computer games for Boeing to be shown at trade shows, which they described in the Nightmare Mission series in Antic magazine. This interview took place on September 4, 2014.Dave’s articles in Antic: http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/index.php?author=David+Small&mag=anticDave articles in Creative Computing: http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/index/index.php?author=David+SmallNightmare mission articles: part 1 http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n7/nightmare.htmlpart 2 http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n8/missionaccomplished.htmlpart 3 http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n11/nightmaredetour.htmlpart 4 http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n12/nightmare.htmlThe 1450XLD Is Not Dead article from Creative Computing: http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n7/206_The_1450_XLD_is_not_dead.phpThe Creative Atari Book: http://www.atariarchives.org/creativeatariand archive.org/details/ataribooks-the-creative-atari
William Volk: Conflict 2500, Voyager 1, Controller, APX Forth — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-02 | William Volk wrote three Atari games for Avalon Hill: Conflict 2500, Voyager 1, and Controller. He also wrote Forth Turtle Graphics Plus, a 3-D graphics library for the Forth language that was released by Atari Program Exchange; ValGraphics for Valpar International; and Super Smart Terminal, an 80-column terminal application which -- may have been released by APX? He later went on to work on Return To Zork for Activision.This interview was conducted March 25 2015.Teaser quotes:“True story, when we did Conflict 2500, we had no documentation, so we literally started poking addresses to find out how to do things. Literally.”“It sounded like a good deal but I was still in grad school so I said, ‘I would only do that if you paid me X,’ where X was for the time was some ridiculous amount of money. And they said ‘Sure, we’ll pay you that much.’”“It looked terrible. It looked annoying as hell but it was funny because it made you think you were in a radar room, you know?”“Voyager 1 was in inspired by Alien. In fact I remember taking my future wife to the premiere of Alien in Philadelphia, thinking that it was going to be like Star Wars: pretty light-hearted. I was kind of shocked. As was she! Our first movie date.”LINKSObsolete Gamer interview with William Volk: http://obsoletegamer.com/the-interview-william-d-volkStick Figure Movie Trivia: itunes.apple.com/us/app/stick-figure-movie-trivia/id960795764?mt=8&uo=4&at=1l3vtksAtarimania's list of William's games: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-volk-william_team_1621_8_G.html
Dean Wittmann, Max Derhak and Dean Derhak — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-01 | This is a different sort of interview. I to three old friends reminiscing about their Atari days. Those friends are Dean Wittmann, Max Derhak and Dean Derhak (Max and Dean are brothers.) These guys were best friends, Atari pals living in Salt Lake City, Utah area going to Atari computer club meetings, cracking programs, and running a BBS. This interview was conducted on September 27, 2014 over Skype. Encore video system for hotels —AtariAge discussion: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229499-atari-800-with-encore-video-productions-info-display-system
Gardner Pomper, Games Computers Play online service for Atari — interview Kay Savetz 2022-01-01 | Gardner Pomper was president and co-founder of Games Computers Play. Games Computers Play was almost certainly the first graphical online service (except for maybe PLATO, depending on how you're counting). It was devoted exclusively to interactive, multi-player games, and it was only for Atari computers. You probably didn't get a chance to use Games Computers Play -- it only managed to get about 1,000 subscribers at its peak. But you may have seen the colorful, enticing advertisement that they ran in the Atari magazines, or read the article about the service in Antic magazine. {If you don't remember them or never saw them, I encourage you to take a look at the ad and article -- there are links in the show notes at AtariPodcast.com.}This interview took place January 28, 2015 over Skype. Gardner died in November 2016.A word about the source code mentioned in the interview: as of the day I’m recording this, they haven’t found it yet, but they believe they have it and are still looking. Update: I tried mightily to get the source code, but was never able to. It's almost certainly lost now.Antic Magazine article about GCP:http://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n6/GamesComputers.htmlGames Computers Play Magazine ad:http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/713/retro-scan-of-the-week-early-online-game-serviceAtariAge discussion about GCP:http://atariage.com/forums/topic/132176-games-computers-play-inc-multiplayer-online-game
Lee Pappas, ANALOG Computing Magazine — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-31 | Lee Pappas was co-founder of A.N.A.L.O.G Magazine, which was the first magazine about Atari computers, and (along with Antic) one of the big two Atari magazines in the United States. To hear a great interview with the other co-founder of A.N.A.L.O.G., Mike DesChenes, listen to episode 4 of the Player/Missile Podcast. There's a link to that and other interesting A.N.A.L.O.G. history in our show notes at AtariPodcast.com.A show note: late in the interview we talk about LFP, the company that purchased ANALOG. LFP stands for Larry Flynt Publishing, a company that's probably best known for publishing Hustler and other porno magazines.This interview was conducted January 29, 2015 over Skype.Lee's web site: leepappas.comPicture of Lee with Crash Dive original art: http://i.imgur.com/6GhxaYD.pngLee Pappas on Twitter: twitter.com/leehpMike DesChenes interview at Player Missile Podcasthttp://www.playermissile.com/podcast/ep004.htmlA.N.A.L.O.G. page scans at archive.orgarchive.org/details/analog-computing-magazineA.N.A.L.O.G. full text at AtariMagazines.comhttp://www.atarimagazines.com/analogPlay Buried Bucksarchive.org/details/a8b_Buried_Bucks_1982_ANALOG_Software_US_k_file
Larry Liberty - Atari 5200 Focus Tester — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-31 | Larry Liberty had what many kids in the '80s would have considereda dream job: focus tester for Atari 5200 games. He tested SpaceDungeon and Vanguard when he was around 12 years old. Larry tellsme all about it in this short interview, which took place on March 2, 2015.Play 5200 Space Dungeon in your browser: archive.org/details/a8b_Space_Dungeon_1982_Atari_US_h_Glenn_5200Play 5200 Vanguard in your browser: archive.org/details/a8b_Vanguard_19xx_Atari_US_5200_k_file
Kathleen OBrien, Shepardson Microsystems and Optimized Systems Software — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-30 | Kathleen O'Brien worked at Shepardson Microsystems, where she wrotethe Atari Assembler Editor cartridge, and wrote the floating pointroutines in Atari BASIC. (Her husband Paul Laughton wrote the restof Atari BASIC.) She, along with Bill Wilkinson and Paul Laughton,co-founded Optimized Systems Software, where she wrote much of thebook “Atari BASIC Source Book”. Atari BASIC Source Book: archive.org/stream/ataribooks-the-atari-basic-source-book/theataribasicsourcebook#page/n0/mode/2upBill Wilkinson interview: youtu.be/4g2K9A_MyuM Paul Laughton interview: youtu.be/aQjtzZc9e_w
Paul Laughton — Apple DOS, Atari DOS, Optimized Systems Software — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-30 | Interview with Paul Laughton, the author of Apple DOS 3.1, Atari BASIC, the Atari DOS filesystem, and co-founder of Optimized Systems Software. This interview took place on September 5, 2014. The Atari 400/800 and OSS at Paul's web site: http://laughton.com/paul/abps/oss/oss.html Atari BASIC Source Book: archive.org/details/ataribooks-the-atari-basic-source-bookPaul's BASIC for Android: rfobasic.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page2018 Paul presentation at Vintage Computer Festival: archive.org/details/VCFPNW_2018_Paul_Laughton_From_Mainframes_to_Micros
Bill Wilkinson, Optimized Systems Software — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-29 | Bill Wilkinson was co-founder of Optimized Systems Software, the creator of BASIC A+, BASIC XL, BASIC XE, DOS XL, Mac/65, Action!, and other OSS software. He wrote Atari DOS 2 and Atari DOS 3. He also wrote the Insight Atari column for Compute! magazine.This interview took place on Sept 24, 2014. Bill died in November 2015.Bill's articles in Compute! magazine: atarimagazines.com/compute/index/index.php?author=Bill+Wilkinson2016 interview with Bill's family, Bev and Bryan Wilkinson: youtu.be/TUYhjXorC5gPhotos, brochures, and art from OSS: archive.org/details/OptimizedSystemsSoftwareComplete collection of Bill Wilkinson articles: archive.org/details/BillWilkinsonArticles
Alan Watson, Ozark Softscape — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-29 | Alan Watson was one of the four founding owners of Ozark Softscape,the company that created M.U.L.E. and Seven Cities of Gold for theAtari, both published by Electronic Arts. Ozark also created CytronMasters which was published by SSI. The company created more gamesfor other platforms, including Heart of Africa, Modem Wars, andRobot Rascals. Alan specialized in interface and graphics code, andhe contributed to both M.U.L.E. and Seven Cities. Alan's September 1981 article in Compute!: archive.org/stream/1981-09-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_016_1981_Sep#page/n83/mode/1upPlanet M.U.L.E.: http://www.planetmule.com
Michael Katz, Mattel/Coleco/Epyx/Atari/Sega — Interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-28 | Michael Katz is a video games industry pioneer. Katz was MarketingDirector for New Product Categories at Mattel Toys, where he helpedcreate the portable, hand-held games category with the Auto Raceand Mattel Football handheld toys. And he was Vice President ofMarketing at Coleco, where he worked on ColecoVision and the Colecotabletop arcade game line. Then he was president at Epyx, where heoversaw the release of three hits for the Atari 8-bit computers —Pitstop, Jumpman, and Summer Games. He left Epyx for Atari, wherehe was head of the short-lived entertainment electronicsdivision. (What's electronic entertainment? Think hardware toys likeTeddy Ruxpin and Laser Tag.) Later, he was president of SegaEntertainment, where he oversaw the launch of the SegaGenesis. Coleco Electronic Quarterback commercial: youtube.com/watch?v=93u6POODKQY
Scott Adams — Adventure International — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-28 | Scott Adams is probably best known for his line of text adventuresfor early personal computers -- including AdventureLand, PirateAdventure, Mystery Fun House, and many others. He was also thefounder of Adventure International, the company that brought Atariusers myraid programs, including Preppie!, Rally Speedway, WhomperStomper, and lots of others. The company also released countlessprograms for TRS-80, Commodore, Apple ][, and otherplatforms. This interview took place March 16 2015. Scott Adams' web site: http://www.msadams.com/index.htmPlay Scott Adams' adventures on the web: http://www.ifiction.org/games/?cat=44 AtariMania's list of Adventure International games: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-adventure-international-usa_publisher_1061_8_G.html
W. Sean Hennessy, Atari, The Software Machine — Interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-27 | W. Sean Hennessy worked in the Consumer Electronics Division atAtari from April 1982 through March 1984 where he developedRealsports Tennis for the Atari 800 and 5200, and created theversion of Centipede for the Atari 5200, and Pengo for the Atari800 and 5200. He also worked at The Software Machine, a companythat was working to create edutainment software for the Atari andother platforms.This interview took place March 1 2015.
Rich Pasco, Atari Manager of VLSI Development — Interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-27 | Rich Pasco was Manager of VLSI Development where he worked on theFREDDIE memory management chip used in the Atari XL and XE seriescomputers. He worked at Atari from November 1982 through May 1983.He lobbied management to create some products for the Atari 8-bitline -- including a mouse and an 80+ column display system -- whichwere not developed. Prior to his time at Atari, he was a member ofthe research staff at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).This interview took place on March 27, 2015.
Tim Huntington: Krazy Kopter, Fire Chief, Adventures of Robin Hood — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-26 | Tim Huntington was an Atari game developer based in the United Kingdom. He programmed Krazy Kopter, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Fire Chief, which were published by English Software; and Despatch Rider, which was published by Mastertronic.This interview took place on December 23, 2021.Tim's segment on Look North West UK TV: youtube.com/watch?v=SXpDoGc8JWcAtariMania's list of Tim's games: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-huntington-tim_team_631_8_G.htmlTim on Twitter: twitter.com/timhuntingtonTim on Instagram: instagram.com/webnectarphoto
Jess Jessop — software engineer at Commodore, Atari R&D — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-26 | Jess Jessop was a software engineer at Commodore, writing diagnostics for the Commodore 64. Then at Atari, he started in the test and repair group for the Atari 400 and 800 SALT diagnostic cartridge, then moved to corporate research, Atari's R&D department under Alan Kay, where he was hardware team leader for the Sierra Project, Atari's unfinished laptop product.This interview occurred April 15, 2015.Teaser quotes:"We brought up an APRANET node there in my cubicle. We played with e-mail at a time when you could send it and it would maybe get there today, maybe weeks from now.""I spec'd out, for two guys, a 600 line a minute band printer with a quietized cover that cost $30,000 in 1980. It went right through. It was delivered next week."
Kent Smith, Atari customer service/technical support rep — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-25 | Sometimes fun to talk to CEOs, and sometimes fun to talk to the people in the trenches. This is an interview from the trenches. Kent Smith was an Atari customer service/technical support rep for the Atari 400/800 from 1982-1984. I interviewed him on September 19, 2014 via Skype.The videotape that he mentions at the end of the interview -- you'll want to watch that too, for a look at life in some of the Atari offices around Christmas 1981.Atari Christmas 1981 Video: youtu.be/q3IP4d46zsM Or at Internet Archive: archive.org/details/AtariChristmas1981
1981 Atari Christmas video Kay Savetz 2021-12-25 | Kent Smith, a former Atari customer service/technical support rep, sent me a videotape which was shot at the Atari offices around Christmas 1981.My interview with Kent: youtu.be/nkz4JWcCtdw
Louis Massucci, Atari bench technician and field service — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-25 | Lou Massucci was a bench technician for the Atari 800 line,repairing 8-bit computers and peripherals in Somerset, New Jersey.Later, he was was promoted to field service representative for thesouthwest territory.This interview was conducted on March 2, 2015. "Actually, that's what was causing some of the failure modesbecause the debris left behind by the cockroaches is very acidicand would actually eat through the PC board traces." "And it kind of came out of nowhere. I mean, we were repairingthese things for a year, and really never had a problem with thekeyboard. Then all of a sudden we're starting to get this rash ofdefective 800s with spacebar problems.""I think it was a Friday afternoon. We got a call from AtariCalifornia, and my manager came in saying, 'You need to get themodem going and they're going to download this file.' We completethe download and it was basically a beta copy of the Pac Mancartridge. So for the next two hours, I think, four or five of uswere sitting around our computers playing a beta copy of the PacMan cartridge.""I was actually a support engineer for a commercial -- an Atari8-bit computer commercial." Atari Computer Commercial Behind The Scenes Photos: archive.org/details/AtariComputerCommericalBehindTheScenesPhotosLou and mug: http://i.imgur.com/tNudFxH.jpgLou and pencil: http://i.imgur.com/FFFyJOV.jpg
Ian Chadwick, Mapping The Atari — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-24 | Ian Chadwick is the author of Mapping The Atari, which was -- andremains -- the ultimate memory map for the Atari 8-bit computers. Mapping was published in two editions: the original was for the 400/800 computers, then an updated version was later released for the XL and XE machines. Ian also did a lot of documentation writing behind the scenes, including many of Antic's software manuals, and several manuals for Batteries Included and other companies. This interview was conducted on March 3, 2015. Teaser quotes: "So I would write these little BASIC programs that would go along,and they'd POKE a bunch of memory locations, and at the same timethey'd be PEEKing into other memory locations to see what wouldhappen. And it was so much fun!" "It wasn't intentionally started out as a book, it reallyintentionally started out as a database of information for my ownuse.""They'd say 'You're the guy who wrote Mapping The Atari! You know,that turned my life around when I was 18!' or something.""It took about two or three minutes to get the platter warmed up.Spinning up to speed it sounded like a Lear jet taking off. Wooooosh! And it held six megabytes." Ian Chadwick on Twitter: twitter.com/iwchadwickIan's web site: http://www.ianchadwick.comIan's articles in Antic magazine: http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/index.php?author=Ian+Chadwick&mag=anticInterview with Ian in Atari Times: http://www.ataritimes.com/index.php?ArticleIDX=324Full text of Mapping The Atari: http://www.atariarchives.org/mapping
Ron and Lynn Marcuse, Atari productivity applications — Interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-24 | Ron and Lynn Marcuse, also known as RLM Microsystems, are the husband-and-wife team who created many applications for the Atari 8-bit computers, including Weekly Planner, Home Inventory, Data Management System, Diskette Librarian, and Utility Diskette II, which were all released by Atari Program Exchange. Weekly Planner was later reworked and became Timewise, which was released as an Atari product. They also created medical and dental office software for MMG Micro Software.Thanks to Wade of Inverse ATASCII for his help in research and writing questions for this interview. Wade has reviewed several of the Marcuse applications on his podcast:: visit www.inverseATASII.info for those.This interview took place on May 14, 2015.Compute! magazine articles by Ron and Lynn: http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/index/index.php?author=Lynn+MarcuseInverse ATASCII on Home Inventory: inverseatascii.info/2015/03/24/s1e13-apx-home-inventoryInverse ATASCII on Timewise: inverseatascii.info/2015/04/28/s1e16-atari-timewiseInverse ATASCII on Diskette Librarian: inverseatascii.info/2015/06/09/s1e18-apx-diskette-librarianInverse ATASCII on Weekly Planner: inverseatascii.info/2014/12/20/s1e7-apx-weekly-plannerTeaser quotes:“When what’s his name, the guy who started Atari [Nolan Bushnell] it was more open. In other words, the people there were friendly, it was fun working with them, it was fun writing stuff for them. It was fun flying out there, you know? It was fun. But eventually, it became a business, I think. And then the fun stops.”“Hey, the damn thing paid for a Porsche and a BMW.”
Michael Phillips, Atari Bench Tech — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-24 | Michael Phillips worked as a bench technician at Atari fromFebruary 1981 to June 1984, doing component level repair of Atarivideo game systems, personal computers, and peripherals. Because Michael is a lifelong stutterer, he didn’t want to do avoice interview — but he was willing to be interviewed by email.Because this is an audio podcast, I’ve enlisted Randy Kindig toread Michael’s responses. You can also read the original writtenversion of this interview via the link below. The interview was conducted via email, February 2015. Teaser quotes: “Beating the device in question...was part of being a good tech.The key is knowing how hard and where to hit.” “Misspellings, bad English and odd terminology were par for theday. One guy once referred to the I/O cable as a‘hose’.” “One I vividly remember was an 810 [disk drive] that came back 3times. The guy claimed it would randomly erase disks, but we couldnever find a culprit...” Read the original written version of this interview: archive.org/details/MichaelPhillipsAtariBenchTechInterview
Ihor Wolosenko, co-founder of Synapse software — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-23 | Ihor Wolosenko was co-founder of Synapse software, the company thatbrought us SynFile and SynCalc, and an amazing list of gamesincluding Blue Max, Zeppelin, Fort Apocalypse, Alley Cat andShamus. And Nautilus, and Rainbow Walker, and Protector II, andothers. Kevin interviewed Ihor on December 23, 2014.1983 Antic magazine interview with Ihor: archive.org/details/1983-04-anticmagazine/page/n20/mode/1upScans of Synapse art: archive.org/details/SynapseSoftwareArtCan a Computer Make You Cry (EA ad): http://www.chrishecker.com/Can_a_Computer_Make_You_Cry
Charles Ratcliff, son of MAT*RAT — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-23 | Charles Ratcliff is the son of Matthew Ratcliff, the prolific writer for the Atari magazines. Matthew Ratcliff -- or MAT*RAT -- died in 1999.Matthew wrote for Antic, STart, Compute!, A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing, and ST-LOG. In 1986 won Antic magazine's award for Outstanding Contributor. Here's what they wrote about him: "In 1985, Missouri programmer Matthew Ratcliff was really on a roll--publishing four major Antic programs on a remarkable variety of subjects. In March, he delivered the powerful printing utility Custom Print. Following in August was Atari 'Toons, an ambitious animation program that we featured in a popular contest. In September, it was the innovative Revision C Converter that debugged a longstanding problem for many users of Atari BASIC Revision B. Then in December, BBS Crashbuster was a valuable safeguard for bulletin board sysops needing protection against destructive system-crashers."Charles dug around in his dad's filing cabinets and found a lot of interesting Atari-related material that he lent me to scan. In it, you'll find: Matthew's a record book listing expenses and income related to his writing (which is fascinating look at the financials of an early technology writer), writing contracts for A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing, Antic Magazine, and ST-LOG Magazine, and a version of Matthew's resume.This is a different sort of conversation, in which I interviewed Charles about his dad, then he sort of interviews me about his dad, then we end with some technical troubleshooting on his Atari, which I've left in the recording because, why not.This conversation occurred December 12 2014.Matthew Ratcliff Atari Documents Collectionarchive.org/details/MatthewRatcliffAtariDocumentsCollectionImagesAtariAge thread about MAT*RAT: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/149545-matthew-ratcliff-matrat1986 Antic Awards: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v5n1/anticawards.htmlMatthew's articles in Antic: http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/index.php?author=Matthew+Ratcliff&mag=anticMatthew's games list at Atarimania: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-ratcliff-matthew-j-w_team_1091_8_G.html
Liza Loop,Technical Writer — Interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-22 | Liza Loop wrote the first users manuals for the Atari 400 and 800computers. She was a Consultant/Technical Writer for Atari fromJune 1979 through April 1980, sometimes writing documentation forinterfaces that had not been designed yet -- so her descriptionbecame the de facto interface specification. Liza also workedfor Personal Software, where she wrote the reference manual for theoriginal VisiCalc program. And in an interestingAtari-related note, she and her husband Steve Smith were married byAtari 400/800 designer Jay Miner -- she talks about that in theinterview, too. This interview was conducted January 28, 2015. As of the day I'mrecording this in April 2015, Liza hasn't been able to find themanuals and newsletters that we discuss to scan them -- but shesays she's still on the lookout. When she finds them and we getthem scanned, they'll be added to the show notes atAtariPodcast.com.History of Computing for Learning and Education: A Virtual Museum: http://www.hcle.orgAtari 800 Operators Manual — First Version — 1979: archive.org/details/Atari800OperatorsManualFirstVersion1979Teaser quotes:"There was no way that this machine [the Atari 800] would beaccepted by a touch typist if you had to shift to get lowercase." "I met Steve Wozniak...I was the first person that he had ever metwho was taking computers into schools so he gave me the firstApple... So we have Apple I number 1 and Apple II number10." "One of the things very few people know about Jay [Miner] is thathe was interested in nudism. The local nudist group used to havetheir parties at his house." "So I would have to go and stand in the accounting office...and say'It's a week after my pay date and I have not received my check...write me a hand check, and put it in the system later ... And I'mgoing to stand here until you do it." "The guys who started Activision were at Atari. ... Somebody askedme how much I was being paid. I told them ... And they said, '$40an hour! We're in the wrong business.' And they all quit, and theysaid 'If you want us to work for you, hire us back at consultantsfor $40 an hour.'"
Victor Cross, Atari copywriter Kay Savetz 2021-12-22 | Victor Cross was a freelance copywriter for Atari from 1982 through 1984. He wrote many press releases and product announcements for Atari 2600 and 5200 games. He alo wrote the documentation for the Atari 5200 Baseball game; plus various catalog copy for Atari. He also wrote game manuals for LucasArts, Spectrum Holobyte, Br0derbund, and other software companies.Victor lent me his collection of Atari news releases that he wrote, which I scanned and uploaded to archive.org. You'll find a link to that in our show notes at AtariPodcast.com.This interview was conducted March 5, 2015.Victor's Atari 5200 and Atari 2600 News Releasesarchive.org/details/Atari_5200_2600_News_ReleasesTeaser quotes:"For me, this was kind of like my big break... it was a huge blessing for me, really.""I did play the game, and I kept killing E.T.. ... He kept dying on me. He'd literally have little crosses over his eyes. And I was going my god, nobody's going to like this."
Doug Carlston, Broderbund CEO — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-21 | Doug Carlston was co-founder and CEO of the software publisher Broderbund.Broderbund published many hits across several platforms, including Bank Street Writer, Print Shop, A.E., Choplifter, Lode Runner, Karateka, Spelunker, David's Midnight Magic, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.This interview occurred March 5, 2015.AtariMania.com's list of Br0derbund games: http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-broderbund-software_publisher_1119_8_G.htmlTeaser quotes:"So we thought it'd be funny to call it Br0derbund and put a slash through the O. Caused all kinds of grief.""There was a competition between us and a number of other companies like Sierra Online and Sirius Software to see how many [products] we could get on the best seller list at the same time. I think maybe the best we ever did was something like 6 products out of 30.""It was kind of a game: we had very talented engineers in-house who loved to try to put copy protection on, and sometimes carried it to unfortunate lengths.""I drove across the country and back over 5 weeks and sold about $15,000 worth of software, and often ended up staying at the homes of the people who owned the little computer stores. I would just look up a name of a computer store in every town I went through and zigzag across the country."
Ron Bieber, SmartDOS for Atari 8-bit Kay Savetz 2021-12-21 | Ron Bieber was involved with the creation and marketing ofSmartDOS, an alternative DOS that was bundled with disk drives fromRana and Astra, and also sold by Sears stores. SmartDOS'swas thefirst disk operating system to be "Density Smart" — automaticallychanging between the disk drive's density modes depending on thedisk used. This interview took place on March 4 2015. Teaser quotes: "So I decided that instead of trying to sell the program, I want tobe paid for every single floppy disk drive that a manufacturermakes." "It was designed for sort of a moment in time, and the goal was notto keep evolving it as new hardware became available. It was tofulfill the need at that time."
Steve Carden, RealDOS for Atari 8-bit — interview Kay Savetz 2021-12-20 | Steve Carden maintains RealDOS, a free, command-line DOS that's multiplexer capable, and still being actively maintained to work with modern hardware. He also works on a variety of hardware products, some of which are available to Atari hobbyists, and some of which aren't. Steve Carden also helped take over maintenance of BBS Express from Keith Ledbetter.This interview took place February 27, 2015.Steve's web site: http://www.realdos.netTeaser quotes:"Just the fact that we have an Atari, that was never designed to be on the Internet, OK? -- NEVER designed to be on the Internet -- on the Internet.""Anybody who has an XE keyboard, sooner or later is going to have a keyboard failure. At least that's been my run-in with them."
