ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad Arnold

We cover Atari news, reviews, and a special feature each show for the Atari 8-bit line of computers (400/800/XL/XE/XEGS)

Episodes

Mentioned books

Dec 9, 2020 • 1h 8min

ANTIC Interview 398 - Dan Noguerol (Farb): Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative

Dan Noguerol (Farb): Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative Two interviews with the same person, recorded more than four years apart. Dan Noguerol is better known to the Atari community as Farb. He is the mastermind behind the Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative, and years ago created SIO2Arduino, an Arduino-based disk drive emulator. I interviewed Farb on August 29, 2019, where we talked primarily about the Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative. That interview took place at the Fujiama Atari event in Lengenfeld, Germany. Our friend Roland Wassenberg sat in on the interview. Shortly after doing that interview, I learned that Randy Kindig had also interviewed Farb, on April 20, 2015, but got busy and hadn't published the interview. So in this episode, two interviews with Farb: my more recent interview first, then we'll go back to 2015 to hear Randy's interview. ... Since this interview was recorded, I received my SuperCard Pro, and have used it to digitize a couple hundred Atari disks. I've also digitized dozens of Atari cassette tapes. With the Software Preservation Initiative web site, the process has gotten a lot easier. The Kryoflux and SuperCard Pro hardware and software still isn't as foolproof as I'd like, but there's been progress on that front for sure. Next, Randy's 2015 interview. In it, they discuss the Software Preservation Initiative, which was at a much earlier stage at that point, and SIO2Arduino. SIO2Arduino is an Atari 8-bit device emulator that runs on the Arduino platform. It connects to Atari 8-bit hardware and emulates a single Atari 1050 disk drive. In the years since this interview was recorded, the project has largely been made obsolete by projects like the S-Drive-MAX and FujiNet. But Farb's work on SIO2Arduino, and making it open-source, absolutely laid the groundwork for those newer hardware projects. Atari 8-bit Software Preservation Initiative SIO2Arduino web site SIO2Arduino at GitHub Farbish.com is offline but archived at Internet Archive

Sep 26, 2020 • 1h 8min

ANTIC Episode 71 - Goodbye, Curt Vendel

ANTIC Episode 71 - Goodbye, Curt Vendel In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast...we say goodbye to good friend and Atari legend Curt Vendel and bring you lots of other Atari news. READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kevin'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 Atari8BitBot https://twitter.com/Atari8BitBot/with_replies and https://atari8bitbot.com/ https://twitter.com/Atari8BitBot/status/1307715507391324162/video/1 Indy Vintage Computer Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/IndyVCC/ Recent Interview Shows K's twitter thread about Sofcast - https://twitter.com/KaySavetz/status/1299759503039062016?s=20 News Curt Vendel died Aug 30 - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-09-08-gaming-historian-curt-vendel-dies-at-53 and https://ruggieroandsonsfh.com/tribute/details/2607/Curtis-T-Vendel/obituary.html Gofundme for Curt's daughter's education: https://www.gofundme.com/f/24lkoij26o Jack Rickard died - https://www.semissourian.com/story/2831878.html Paulo Garcia ACTION! Series - https://vintageisthenewold.com/going-into-action-with-atari-xl-xe-part-1-hello-world/ Atari800MacX Version Release_5.3.1 - http://www.atarimac.com/atari800macx.php Vintage Computer Center (Gavin) creating run of FujiNet boards - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/fujinet The 20 greatest home computers – ranked! - The Guardian - Keith Stuart - https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/sep/07/the-20-greatest-home-computers-ranked QuadTari - Champ Games - Sep. 1 post on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/champdotgames/posts/2758300214426652?comment_id=2759157137674293&reply_comment_id=2759988334257840&notif_id=1599159184524954&notif_t=comment_mention&ref=notif Atari Paints - "RETROCOMPUTING SPRAY PAINTS: AMIGA BEIGE, COMMODORE, AND ATARI GREY" at Hackaday - https://hackaday.com/2020/09/01/retrocomputing-spray-paints-amiga-beige-commodore-and-atari-grey/ also Hackaday - https://hackaday.com/2020/09/07/miniature-faux-floppy-for-8-bit-atari-looks-the-part/ Gr9Lab, Photoshop for Atari computers - https://atariteca.net.pe/gr9lab-el-photoshop-para-computadoras-atari/ Gr9Lab example video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf-eK0A_iIE tree simulator - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/311454-tree-simulator-4k-abbuc-contest-2020/ Atari User Magazine is back! - http://www.atariuser.com/ Elegy for XL-Search - http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/xlsearch/ and https://twitter.com/billkendrick/status/1305027460254191616?s=20 Jason Moore's Atari Projects continues - http://atariprojects.org/ Shows Upcoming Shows where you might see Atari computers (or Atari people): October 10 - 12, VCF East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/ GONE VIRTUAL + LIVE. NOTE: You can order a t-shirt to support the VCF events at http://vcfed.org/wp/t-shirts/ for $20 + shipping Event page created by Chicago Classic Computing - http://chiclassiccomp.org/events.html?fbclid=IwAR3Fm5hf7PCQj0yXBxXvj9J8Mp8GDwD2w1bfD_qktpPOnNYNoQUmN_EpgB8 Event page created by Floppy Days - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/ Event page on Vintage Is The New Old - https://vintageisthenewold.com/vintage-is-the-new-old-releases-new-events-calendar/ YouTube videos this month #Atari8bit #FujiNet Hacking on Battleship - Thom Cherryhomes - a simple game in Turbo Basic XL for Atari systems with a #FujiNet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTpascJqw10&feature=push-lsb&attr_tag=AhNtji2D_09IhuJz%3A6 Silicon Valley CEO's Childhood Computer - Vintage Unboxing - by Borderline OCD - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pjvBwErl4o&feature=youtu.be Bill Kendrick Radix sort (using counting sort & prefix sum) in TurboBASIC XL - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXEAAvRYeO4 New at Github https://github.com/pfeuh/AtariCreditsEditor https://github.com/pfeuh/atariCreditsRoller https://github.com/savetz/ColleenCalculator New at Archive.org https://archive.org/details/das-atari-buch-band-1-happy-computer https://archive.org/details/strategiespiele-und-wie-man-sie-auf-dem-atari-programmiert-data-becker https://archive.org/details/atari-basic-handbuch-sybex Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender.

Sep 20, 2020 • 43min

ANTIC Interview 397 - Youth Advisory Board: Steve Cohen

Youth Advisory Board: Steve Cohen This is the eighth in a series of episodes featuring the kids of Atari's Youth Advisory Board. In 1983, Atari formed a Youth Advisory Board, selecting teenagers from around the United States to share their opinions about computers and video games, test software, and promote Atari's computers at events. The group consisted of kids aged 14 through 18, including Steve Cohen. He attended George Washington High School in Denver Colorado, where his teacher, Dr. Irwin Hoffman, taught. George Washington High School received a grant from the Atari Institute for Education Action Research, Atari's educational support arm, The Atari Institute Newsletter (fall 1982) wrote: "High school students in a model math and computer program will use their grant of ATARI Home Computer systems to develop individual and group research projects in their own fields of interest. Extensible programming languages, such as FORTH, will be used to develop new syntax for use in other high school subjects: electronics, music, art, history, mathematics, and home economics. This project supports a major 'model school' known for its innovations in computer education over the last twenty years." This interview took place on May 21, 2020. Enter Magazine—When These Kids Talk, Atari Listens Using Fig FORTH On The Atari 800 By Stephen A. Cohen High school teacher Irwin Hoffman IBM PC Commercial Atari Institute for Education Action Research Report Feb. 1983 Atari in Action — Atari Institute Newsletter Fall 1982

Sep 13, 2020 • 43min

ANTIC Interview 396 - Kai and George Esbensen, Micro-Ed Software

Kai and George Esbensen, Micro-Ed Software I first heard about the Micro-Ed software company when a member of the Atari community sent me a batch of educational cassette tapes to digitize. The tapes had titles like Maps and Globes, Punctuation, and Spelling Level E. Intriguingly, the tape labels said "Micro-Ed, creators of more than 2,500 programs, pre-school through adult." 2,500 programs? Why had I never heard of this company? I asked 4AM, a software preservationist specializing in the Apple II — and specializing in little-known educational software — if they had heard of the company. The answer was also no. So I started to research. A two-page advertisement in Compute! magazine issue 4, May 1980, provided my first glimpse into the company: "LOOK at all the MICRO-ED programs for the PET!" The titles listed include Agreement of Subject and Verb; Run on Sentences; Higher, Same, Lower; Word Demons; and (oddly) Usage Boners. Many of the software tapes were sold in packs, for instance $84 for a pack of 12 elementary school programs. $49.95 for a grade's worth of spelling lessons on 7 tapes. An item in the Washington Apple Pi journal, four years later, January 1984, intrigued me: "$10,000 EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE GIVEAWAY. Micro-Ed Incorporated has announced its willingness to donate up to $10,000 worth of software to any school district, Special Education cooperative, or parent group willing to establish a school-to-home lending library. No limit has been established on the number of grants Micro-Ed will make. The donation is not contingent upon the purchase of any Micro-Ed products. ... Thorward Esbensen, Micro-Ed's president, 'envisions the establishment of a free lending library of educational software for families.'" Less than a year later, in November 1984, the Commodore magazine The Transactor (v5n3) wrote that Micro-Ed had donated "more than a half million dollars worth of its instructional programs to school systems" for those free software lending libraries. So. Micro-Ed was established in 1979 by Thorward (Tory) Esbensen. Based in Eden Prairie, MN, the company specialized in low-cost educational software. The software, written in the BASIC programming language, was available for Commodore PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, TRS-80, and Texas Instruments computers. Micro-Ed's best-known title was perhaps "Trail West," an Oregon Trail-like game. Mr. Esbensen died in 2012. I interviewed two of his sons, both of whom worked with their father at Micro-Ed. First, I talked with Kai Esbensen, the youngest in the family. Kai told me in email: "My siblings had all moved out by the time Micro-Ed was in motion, but I lived it. Helping out with Micro-Ed was my first paid job, in 2nd/3rd grade, and I was still on the payroll helping out through age 22." This interview took place on May 28, 2020. ... Next, I talked with Kai's older brother, George Esbensen, who was a salesman for Micro-Ed, and later was president of Cycle Software Services, a software duplication company that spun off from Micro-Ed. This interview took place on June 3, 2020. Very old Micro-Ed/Thorwald Esbensen web site AtariMania's partial list of Micro-Ed Software for Atari Micro-Ed advertisement in Compute! magazine May 1980 Thorwald Esbensen obituary in StarTribune Thorwald Esbensen obituary in Duluth News Tribune Washington Apple Pi, January 1984 The Transactor v5n3

Sep 5, 2020 • 21min

ANTIC Interview 395 - Myra Marshall, Computer Applications Tomorrow

Myra Marshall, Computer Applications Tomorrow Myra Marshall, along with her husband-at-the-time Roger Marshall, was co-founder of Computer Applications Tomorrow, a small software company that specialized in educational software for microcomputers. Most of the company's software was self-published and sold in small computer stores, including titles such as USA States and Capitals, Spelling Exam, and Alphabet Keyboard Primer. One title, Musical Computer: The Music Tutor, was sold by Atari Program Exchange. It first appeared in the spring 1982 APX catalog. It was available on disk and cost $14.95. This interview took place on August 26, 2020. Musical Computer in the spring 1982 APX catalog AtariMania's list of Computer Applications Tomorrow software

Aug 29, 2020 • 1h 3min

ANTIC Interview 394 - Michael Darland, Microperipheral Corporation and Sofcast

Michael Darland, Microperipheral Corporation and Sofcast Michael Darland was co-founder of Microperipheral Corporation, and president of Sofcast, a system that sent computer data over AM and FM radio. Founded in 1979, Microperipheral Corporation produced 300 BPS modems for several brands of microcomputers, including models compatible with the Atari 8-bit computers. Using telecommunications software called TariTerm, the Atari compatible-modems worked with the Atari 850 interface, or by connecting directly to the SIO bus. Michael was also co-founder of Sofcast. Launched in August 1984, Sofcast was a system that sent computer programs and other data over traditional AM and FM radio stations. Listeners would use a $70 receive-only modem, called a Shuttle Communicator, to receive the programs that were transmitted over radio waves at up to 4800 bits per second. According to an article in the June 1986 issue of Modern Electronics magazine, "The software itself actually originates at the radio studio as a tape recording of what is essentially a modem's output. It's the same as if you fed an ASCII file through a modem, but recorded the modem's output instead of sending into a telephone line." An article in PC Magazine, May 28, 1985, provides more detail: "The show's format falls under the bailiwick of Robert E. Lee Hardwick, a veteran radio announcer of 25 years. Harwick's articulate voice serves as the common thread tying together the distinct parts of the weekly 30-minute show. At the microphone, Hardwick interviews guests like Bob Landware, developer of software for synthesizing music on PCs, or he demonstrates computing curios such as the Ghostbusters theme played over a Commodore computer speaker. ...What separates Hardwick's show from its counterparts, though, is the transmission of software, or sofcasts. Midway through the show, Hardwick advises the listening audience to ready their equipment for sofcasts. He briefly describes the program or data file to be sent and counts down the sofcast like a rocket launch. A 1-second beep follows, after which the actual software is broadcast. This typically lasts 10 to 12 seconds, terminated by another 1-second beep. Then Hardwick's voice returns. To transmit or download software across the air, Hardwick cables a device called a Shuttle Encoder to the serial interface port of his PC. With a program written by Microperipheral, he transfers the file to be sofcast to the Encoder, which converts it to analog signals. These signals can be taped or broadcast directly. ... The show is subsequently played on two AM stations in the Seattle/Tacoma area on Sunday nights, KAMT...and KXA. ...On the receiving end, the audience has an AM radio tuned to the show. Prior to the sofcast, listeners attach a Shuttle Communicator to the radio. A cable coming from the Communicator connects to the radio earphone jack. Another cable connects the battery-powered Communicator with the computer through the serial port. ...A special program, also developed by Microperipheral, is executed on the computer... It accepts a stream of data sent by the Shuttle Communicator to the serial interface and writes the data to a disk file. Since the show first went on the air in August 1984, Hardwick has sofcast a plethora of programs. The list includes spreadsheets, flight simulators, picture files, and games aimed at Commodore, Atari, Macintosh, Radio Shack, and IBM PC computers, among others. The public-domain programs distributed through the sofcast were initially received by only a few computers because of the limited availability of Shuttle Communicators." Later in the article, it says: "One of the biggest tasks facing Hardwick and his colleagues is to convince radio stations to air the show. ...Sofcast airs Sunday nights, sandwiched, on one station, between two religious broadcasts, a time when there 'is no revenue possibility at all, and hasn't been for 20 years.' Yet a computing audience is tuning in, and businesses can reach them through advertising without paying exorbitant rates." Sofcast would grow to broadcast on 30 radio stations in the United States. Michael Darland's co-founder for both ventures, Donald L. Stoner, was a world-renowned ham radio operator who died in 1999. This interview took place on May 24 and May 31, 2020. "Software Takes To The Air" in PC Magazine 1985-05-28 "Free BASIC programs by Radio" in Modern Electronics 1986-06 "Software On The Air" in Computer Shopper 1985-08 Cable Systems Talk to Computers by Donald L. Stoner Wave of Future in Computer Software May Come Over The Radio Sofcast receive-only modem Donald L. Stoner obituary Microconnection modem review in InfoWorld, Sep 20, 1982 Microperipheral Launches Low-Cost Videotex System Microconnection User Manual 2.0 Microconnection User Manual 4.0 Microperipheral Corporation Sofcast FSK data communication system patent Microperipheral Corporation Sofcast data communication system patent

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