Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Anthony Jones was general manager of Atari’s headquarters in the United Kingdom. Later he moved to the United States, where he was group product manager in the marketing arm. There he worked on the Mindlink controller, a controller for the Atari that strapped to your forehead with a headband. Later, he worked at Nolan Bushnell’s Catalyst Technologies incubator.
This interview took place on September 22, 2015.
Teaser quotes:
“As opposed to a video game where it gets faster and faster as you go on the game (in the older games at least) this one was kind of the opposite: the more you relaxed, the higher your score cranked. It was quite a surreal experience.”
Anthony Jones was general manager of Atari’s headquarters in the United Kingdom. Later he moved to the United States, where he was group product manager in the marketing arm. There he worked on the Mindlink controller, a controller for the Atari that strapped to your forehead with a headband. Later, he worked at Nolan Bushnell’s Catalyst Technologies incubator.
This interview took place on September 22, 2015.
Teaser quotes:
“As opposed to a video game where it gets faster and faster as you go on the game (in the older games at least) this one was kind of the opposite: the more you relaxed, the higher your score cranked. It was quite a surreal experience.”

![The Famous Computer Cafe 1984-11-17 Bill Gates and Kazuhiko Nishi
The Famous Computer Cafe 1984-11-17 Bill Gates and Kazuhiko Nishi. Aired on KIEV.
Digitized from reel-to-reel tape by Harbor Digitizing of Friday Harbor, Washington.
The Famous Computer Cafe recovery and digitization project was done by Kay Savetz in 2024. If you have access to other episodes of Famous Computer Cafe on tape, please contact Kay Savetz.
00:00 [Intro] sponsored by The Software Spot of west Los Angeles, CA with Ellen Walker, Michael Walker, Andy Velcoff
03:43 [Ad] Framework by Ashton Tate at The Software Spot for $525
04:29 [Ad] Home Accountant Plus by Continental Software at Software Center International in Encino, CA
05:39 [Tutorial] Koala Technologies Muppet Learning Keyboard
09:47 Interview with Bill Gates, “whiz kid” co-founder of Microsoft : what is an operating system?: MS-DOS; IBM PC andTandy 2000; some of the software that Microsoft produces: BASIC, Flight Simulator, Microsoft Word, MultiPlan; producing software for the Apple Macintosh; graphical user interfaces; future of software: graphics, learning, “softer software”, artificial intelligence
16:17 [Ad] Book, “How to Make Money with Your Computer” by Paul & Sarah Edwards from Online America, Santa Monica, CA
17:37 [News] David Kohl left Ashton Tate as CEO and Chairman, replaced by Carmelo Santorro
18:53 Continuation of interview with Bill Gates: discussion of MSX for home computers; “a computer in every home”;
21:14 [Ad] Book and tapes, “How to Start and Operate a Word Processing Service” by Paul and Sarah Edwards
22:21 [Personal Computer News] Corona Data Systems introduces Gucci carrying case for Corona Portable PC; Apple Computer Inc. winter promotion to borrow Macintosh for trial use for 24 hours; Thorn EMI Computer Software Inc.’s Perfect Software family of products available for IBM PC Junior; Ashton Tate Publishing introduced book “Up and Running:Adventures of Software Entrepreneurs”
24:34 [Ad] WordStar by MicroPro at the Computer Store in Santa Monica, CA
25:30 [Ad] Book and tapes, “How to Make Money Doing Research With Your Computer” by Paul and Sarah Edwards
26:35 [Continuation of Personal Computer News] Avant Garde Publishing introduces “Design Your Own Home” with Landscape Design, Architectural Design and Interior design for Apple II, Apple II+, Apple IIe and Apple IIc; Franklin Computer Corp. filed Chapter 11 and is liquidating assets due to suit by Apple, expected to be gone within a year
27:55 [Dr. Disk answering listener letters] What is word processing?
30:20 call for listeners to write in to the show
32:04 Interview with Kai Nishi, President of Microsoft, Far East: research and development for consumer products in Far East; discussion of MSX: compatibility across machines
35:24 [Ad] Zork I, II, and III by Infocom at Simply Software, Manhattan Beach, CA
36:40 [News] Personal computer sales by 1988 to hit 30 billion $
37:42 Continuation of interview with Kai Nishi: Japanese software and probability it will cross over to the United States; entertainment consumer software; how Japanese look at software development differently; quality-conscious; lacking creativity
42:22 [David Johnson, IBM correspondent] need to store data, get to it quickly, and report on it; what is a database?
45:22 [Ad] Dollars and Sense by Monogram at Software Spot in west Los Angeles, CA
46:15 Paul and Sarah Edwards segment on legislation affecting working from home with a computer
49:39 [Ad] “Complete Startup Kit for a Home Business with Your Computer” by Paul and Sarah Edwards
51:00 [Ad] Lotus 1-2-3 by Lotus at Computer Ease, Overland
52:23 tutorial on Filevision database program by Telos Software for the Apple Macintosh
57:21 closing
59:39 end The Famous Computer Cafe 1984-11-17 Bill Gates and Kazuhiko Nishi](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QooIOEM4pck/mqdefault.jpg)







![Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer — interview
I was adding a batch of ham radio newsletters to the Internet Archives 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. Thats 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.
Nicks 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 Ataris 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.
Keyer software and source code at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/keyer
Ham Terminal software (with source code) at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/hamterminal
Various amateur radio software for for Atari 8-bit: https://archive.org/details/ham800
Nick interviewed by the QSO Today podcast in 2015: https://archive.org/details/qso-today-067
Nicks keyer article in Solid Copy:
https://archive.org/details/CWops_Solid_Copy_2019-09/page/15/mode/1up
Nicks web site: http://www.wa5bdu.com
Ad Astra magazine: https://archive.org/details/dlarc?query=ad+astra&sort date
Pat Kennedys tank game: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/236768-the-atari-interview-discussion-thread/?do=findComment&comment=5554832
Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications: https://archive.org/details/dlarc
Support Kays interviews on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/savetz Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer — interview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SoGkbA5tsRk/mqdefault.jpg)
