ANTIC Interview 199 - Bob Alkire and Steve Saunders, Rainbow GPU

Bob Alkire and Steve Saunders, Rainbow GPU

Bob Alkire and Steve Saunders worked in Atari's Corporate Research lab under Alan Kay, where they worked on the Rainbow GPU. Rainbow was a next-generation graphics chip (after ANTIC) which was never released.

This interview took place on June 10, 2016. The first voice you hear is that of Bob Alkire.

Teaser quotes:

Steve: "And they basically went around the table and said, 'This computer project has software in it, therefore it belongs in my division.' — 'No, this project has hardware in it, therefore it belongs in MY division.'"

Bob: "But he has a Kermit The Frog tie tack. I say, 'Nice tie tack.' He says, 'This is a close personal friend of mine.' I look up, and it was Jim Henson."

Steve: "A trunk of the research lab had a completely fictional manager named Arthur T. Fishel."

Wikipedia on Sierra and RAINBOW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Sierra