Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tom Briscoe worked at Atari as an intern in the summer of 1981, where he evaluated the user-written software that had been submitted to Atari Program Exchange.
This interview took place on September 26, 2015.
Teaser quote:
“Hangman was sort of the obvious game for people to submit, and if I recall the obvious business application was the personal finance and record keeping ... budget programs.”
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paul cubbage?
Tom Briscoe worked at Atari as an intern in the summer of 1981, where he evaluated the user-written software that had been submitted to Atari Program Exchange.
This interview took place on September 26, 2015.
Teaser quote:
“Hangman was sort of the obvious game for people to submit, and if I recall the obvious business application was the personal finance and record keeping ... budget programs.”
###
paul cubbage?

![Gary Walton, Atari store owner and software pirate — interview
Gary Walton owned Discount Video And Computers, a large Atari dealership in Fort Pierce, Florida, and was involved in the Atari software piracy scene. Gary is one of the people who helped me find Glenn the 5200 Man, whom I previously interviewed.
This interview took place on September 12, 2015. The New York Yankees lost both games in their double-header with the Toronto Blue Jays that day.
This interview contains adult language and content.
Teaser quotes:
“One day I call up there and I don’t get ahold of him, instead I get ahold of his mother. And I was like, ‘Yes ma’am, may I please speak with Robert [Jaeger]?’ And she’s like ‘Who are you?!’ ‘I’m a friend of Robert’s.’ ... ‘Are you one of those computer pirates?! You know, these computer pirates are getting Robert in trouble and he’s only 16 years old. He doesn’t need this type of trouble!’ screaming at me.”
“They were accusing him of having robbed more than $150,000 worth of phone services.”
“‘Tell you what we’re going to do. I want you to put your disk collection in one big box. And it better be everything!’ He goes, ‘And I’m going to be by your house in 15 minutes to pick up that box.’” Gary Walton, Atari store owner and software pirate — interview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tDywVCrm2Jo/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Famous Computer Cafe 1984-11-18 Howard Goldberg (PlayNET)
The Famous Computer Cafe 1984-11-18 Howard Goldberg of PlayNET. This episode aired on KFOX.
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.
0:00 [Title Promo] Famous Computer Cafe brought to you by The Software Spot.
1:07 [Opening] Announcement of the shows participants: Ellen Walker, Andy Velcoff, Michael Walker, Howard Goldberg (President of PlayNET), Dave Johnson, Paul and Sarah Edwards, Dr. Disk.
2:53 [Commercial] The Software Spot featuring Lotus Symphony
3:31 Mail-in Contest for Commodore 64 or dinner for two.
6:00 Interview with Howard Goldberg, president of PlayNET a new online network service. PlayNET targets users who want to connect and play games online utilizing graphics instead of just text. Michael and Howard discuss rate structures; Local access numbers.
14:30 [Commercial] How to Make Money with Your Computer book by Paul and Sarah Edwards
15:43 [Promo] Coping with Stress by Psicomp for Apple II autograph party at Van Nuys Computerland
16:40 Continuation of interview with Howard Goldberg. Michael and Howard discuss features: online gaming, electronic mail, greeting cards (in future). Talk about social aspects of the service.
23:52 Personal Computer News with Rick Burnett: Microsoft delayed Windows until June 1995; IBM TopView to be introduced 3 months before Windows; Compaq and Fortune earnings down; Visicorp will merge with Paladin Software Corporation.
27:27 The New Age Journal - Win Win video games (co-operative) article
28:25 Continuation of interview with Howard Goldberg. Starting a computer based business. Affordable pricing rates of PlayNET ($2 per hour after monthly $6 subscription fee. Initial software $29.95). Hardware requirements: Commodore 64, disk drive, modem. May expand to other machines in the future.
38:38 The New Age Journal - Toybrary
39:39 Continuation of interview with Howard Goldberg. Future plans.
44:55 IBM correspondent Dave Johnson on helping others with using a PC. Menu/task building software Starburst (MicroPro).
47:32 [Commercial] Dollars and Sense by Monogram available at The Software Spot.
48:10 Paul and Sarah Edwards on making money with micro computers by monitoring stock portfolios.
51:38 Andy Velcoff: The Seven Cities of Gold by Electronic Arts
54:50 [Commercial] Zork I, II, III by Infocom at Simply Software in Manhattan Beach
56:00 Outro
57:36 end The Famous Computer Cafe 1984-11-18 Howard Goldberg (PlayNET)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tI7LReoDdO4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Jon Greer, Atari journalist — interview
In this interview, we’ll hear the perspective of an Atari outsider — a newspaper reporter who covered Atari. Jon Greer was a business reporter for the San Jose Mercury News newspaper from 1981 to 1986, and business reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1986 to 1988. As part of his beat, he covered Atari; Chuck E. Cheese; and Catalyst Technologies, Nolan Bushnell’s incubator.
This interview took place April 17, 2015.
Teaser quotes:
“Atari was transforming the valley from Dull Engineer Valley to exciting consumer electronics valley.”
“I think Jack [Tramiel] had...a very undeserved bad reputation...He was one of the few guys — if anybody, maybe the only one - who knew how to take over this business.” Jon Greer, Atari journalist — interview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uNAUTGb0IRk/mqdefault.jpg)

![John Schulte and Feridoon Moinian, Dorsett Educational Systems — Interview
John Schulte and Feridoon Moinian were both employees at Dorsett Educational Systems, the company that created the Talk And Teach educational cassette tapes which were sold by Atari. Dorsett also sold many more cassette-based classes directly via mail order, for the Atari, TRS-80 Color Computer, and other platforms. Feridoon worked primarily as a programmer, and John was primarily an editor.
As my co-interviewer for this discussion, I invited Thomas Cherryhomes, an expert in the technical aspects of the Talk and Teach system. I interviewed Thomas previously on this podcast, in ANTIC interview 57.
Nearly every educational cassette tape that Dorsett released for the Atari has been digitized, they’ll all available at Archive.org, there’s a link in the show notes at AtariPodcast.com.
This interview took place on June 25, 2015.
Teaser quote:
“He [Loyd Dorsett] would tell them, “Shall we go have lunch now?’ Yes. ‘OK, let’s go downstairs and we’ll have some lunch.’ He’d take them downstairs, and on top of the little five-foot refrigerator was a Styrofoam cup that had 10 Cents written on it. That was 10 cents that you’d do on the honor system to buy a packet of Cup of Soup. ... This is the way he would entertain people because you were stuck out in the middle of nowhere, it was 20 minutes to get to a restaurant. But he would actually pull coins out of his pocket and say ‘My treat.’”
Interview with Thomas Cherryhomes: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-57-thomas-cherryhomes
Dorsett Educational Cassette Tape Archive: https://archive.org/details/@savetz?and[]=dorsett%20educational John Schulte and Feridoon Moinian, Dorsett Educational Systems — Interview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/urZz71PjTBE/mqdefault.jpg)


![Tony Nicholson and John Babinchak II, Hi-Res Magazine — Interview
In this episode, two interviews for the price of one: two people who helped create Hi-Res Magazine — the computer magazine that only published four issues. First, we’ll hear from Tony Nicholson, the publisher of Hi-Res magazine; then John Babinchak, the editor of the magazine.
Hi-Res was a short-lived magazine dedicated to Atari and Commodore 8-bit computers. It was published from late 1983 to early 1984. Although they didn’t publish months on the cover, I believe the first issue would have have a cover date of November 1983. Subsequent issues would have been January 1984, March 1984, and the final issue was May 1984. Hi-Res came to the Atari magazine party late in the game, fighting against magazines with established advertiser and subscriber bases. A.N.A.L.O.G. magazine started in January 1981, and ANTIC magazine’s first issue was April 1982. Creative Computing was starting its tenth year around that time.
You can read all four issues of Hi-Res at www.atarimagazines.com/hi-res/.
The interview with Tony took place September 24, 2015, the interview with John on September 29.
LINKS
Hi-Res at AtariMagazines.com: www.atarimagazines.com/hi-res/
Hi-Res at archive.org: https://archive.org/details/@savetz?and[]=hi-res%20magazine Tony Nicholson and John Babinchak II, Hi-Res Magazine — Interview](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wiorCtlXbhg/mqdefault.jpg)

