Antic The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Bruce Campbell, APX Character Fun Bruce Campbell is the author of Character Fun, an educational game which was published by Atari Program Exchange. It appeared in the winter 1983 APX catalog — the final APX catalog. This interview took place on September 22, 2016. Shortly after we did this interview, Bruce sent me scans of the source code printout for Character Fun, it's now online at archive.org. Character Fun source code: https://archive.org/details/AtariCharacterFunSourceCode Character Fun the the winter 1983 APX catalog Character Fun at AtariMania

Ed Stewart and Ray Lyons, APX Letterman Ed Stewart and Ray Lyons co-wrote Letterman, an educational word game that was first available in the winter 1982-1983 Atari Program Exchange catalog. Ed also wrote two articles for Antic magazine: "Hokey Pokey Interrupts" - on using POKEY timers in assembly language - and "Talk Is Cheap", a 1-bit audio digitizer. Ed also had two articles in Compute!'s Second Book of Atari: Memory Test and Back Up Your Machine Language Programs With BASIC. This interview took place on September 15, 2016. The first voice you'll hear is Ed's. "They played that thing for days. They would love to try and stump each other by typing in their own word, primarily." After the interview, Ray emailed me this update: "There's one fact I wished I had included--and I'll tell you just in case you find it useful:  This would have probably been early in the 2nd year of the sale of Letterman via the APX. Atari contacted us and asked us to sign some legal documents giving them permission to port Letterman

Russ Walter, Secret Guide to Computers Russ Walter is the author of Secret Guide to Computers & Tricky Living, a book that he has been publishing and updating since 1972. It is currently in its 32nd edition; he's working on the 33rd now. The book has evolved with technology and time — the current versions cover modern machines like Windows, Android, and iOS. The early editions covered then-modern machines like the Atari 800, TRS-80, Commodore 64, and Apple //.  In addition to the book, Russ provides a free technical support phone number, which he invites people to call at any time, day or night. (My copy of the book, from 1987, says right on the cover: "Call 24 hours: he's usually in and sleeps only lightly.") Though the phone number has changed, some 30 years later, that is still a feature that he offers. This interview took place on September 15, 2016. "The craziest call that I got was a girl, sounded like she was 7th or 8th grade or something ... wanted to know how to attract her boyfriend to her." Sec

In this episode of Antic the Atari 8-bit podcast, we visit vintage computer festivals and upgrade our systems. We fail to spend thousands of dollars on rare new hardware. 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 ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS What we’ve been up to Paul Westphal at Eight Bit Fix - http://www.eightbitfix.com VCFMW 11- http://vcfmw.org Suburban Chicago Atarians (SCAT) - http://www.scatarians.org/ Randy’s Presentation at VCFMW11 on Modern Upgrades for Vintage Computers Edladdin controllers - http://www.edladdin.com/ TransKey II for XEGS - http://ataribits.weebly.com/transkey-ii.html Ultimate Cart runs by Santosp (Panagiotis Santos) Ultimate Cart run by MacRorie Atlanta Maker Faire. Oct 1 & 2 - http://atlanta.makerfaire.com/ Dial-A-Grue - https://dial-a-grue.com VCF West XI -- Paul Laughton — Mainframes to micros and beyond Ha

Monty Webb, APX Seven Card Stud Monty Webb published one program through Atari Program Exchange: Seven Card Stud. The program first appeared in the summer 1982 APX catalog, where it won second prize in the entertainment category. He also self-published the program as Real Poker I, his publishing company was called Real Software. This interview took place on September 14, 2016. Teaser quotes: "And then I could call up a certain sector on a track...and then WHAM, I'd knock a hole in the disk." "There were shortcuts to try to get that to fit in 16K. ... Somebody was really hot because he has a straight flush that's higher than someone else's straight flush, and the pot split. So he goes crazy and writes me a nastygram..." AtariMania's list of Monty's software Seven Card Stud in the summer 1982 APX catalog

Elizabeth MacRae, APX Mankala Elizabeth MacRae published one program for the Atari 8-bit computers: Mankala, which was published by Atari Program Exchange. It first appeared in the fall 1982 APX catalog, where it won second prize in the entertainment category.  This interview took place on September 13, 2016. After the interview, Elizabeth sent me a scan of the Mankala manual, which is now available at the Internet Archive. "They didn't think personal computers on everyone's desk was the way to go, because everything worked fine the way it was, with the mainframe handling all of the applications, and that was it." Mankala in fall 1982 APX catalog Mankala manual: https://archive.org/details/APXMankala

Douglas Crockford: Galahad And The Holy Grail, Burgers! Douglas Crockford worked in Atari's Game Research Group under Chris Crawford. There he created a variety of demos -- including Ballsong and Crockford's Trench -- and games. He created Galahad And The Holy Grail, which was published by Atari Program Exchange in summer 1982; and Burgers!, which was published by APX in winter 1983. After Atari, he worked at LucasFilm where he worked on Atari games including Rescue on Fractalus! and Koronis Rift. This interview took place on July 16, 2016. Teaser quotes: "For most of what we wanted to accomplish it was not possible to do things correctly. So it was all about cheating." "If they hired an executive and he wasn't working out, it was too much trouble to fire him, so they would assign him to special projects." Crockford's web site: http://crockford.com Galahad And The Holy Grail in the summer 1982 APX catalog Burgers! in the winter 1983 APX catalog Crockford's games at AtariMania Wikipedia on Crockford: https:

Dewitt Robbeloth, AKA Robert Dewitt, Editor of Antic magazine Dewitt Robbeloth, who went by the pen name Robert Dewitt, was editor of Antic magazine, STart magazine, and the short-lived II Computing magazine. He also freelanced for InfoWorld and other computer magazines. He was the editor the book "The Best of Antic Volume 1," published by Antic Publishing. This interview took place on July 14 and 15, 2016. In it, we discuss Jim Capparell, whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quotes: "The bathroom flooded. So someone had the bright idea, since we were giving the paper away ... they decided to take our magazine and put it on the floor of the bathroom so it would sop up the water." "I had to go up and sit at the big table. I had to keep my back to the wall so that nobody would see that my pants were split open." Antic articles credited to Robert DeWitt and DeWitt Robbeloth Best of Antic book at archive.org Best of Antic book at AtariMagazines.com: http://www.atarimagazines.com/index/?issue=vbook Jim Cappare

Bob Smith: Video Pinball; Imagic co-founder; Sleazy Adventure Bob Smith worked at Atari, where he created Video Pinball for the Atari 2600. He also wrote two programs for the Atari 8-bit which were sold by Atari Program Exchange: Sound Editor and Sleazy Adventure, which both appeared in the inaugural APX catalog, fall 1981. He left Atari to co-found the game developer Imagic, where he programmed Riddle of the Sphinx, Dragonfire, Moonsweeper, and other games. Then he went on to work on games at Bally, Electronic Arts, and Accolade. This interview took place on June 24, 2016. Teaser quote: "I have two kids, no degree. I walked in to Atari and said, "I've written a game and sold it. ... Wanna hire me?' And Dennis Koble did." Sleazy Adventure in the fall 1981 APX catalog Sound Editor in the fall 1981 APX catalog Gaming After 40 blog Plays Sleazy Adventure National Videogame Museum: http://www.nvmusa.org

Bob Graves, Gridiron Glory Bob Graves co-wrote Gridiron Glory, a football game which was published by Atari Program Exchange. The game first appeared in the winter 1982-1983 APX catalog. His co-author was Mike Drury, who was unavailable for an interview. Bob and Mike created two other Atari computer programs: Asteroid Artist and Ramblin Gamblin, which were published by their own company, MicroMate Software. This interview took place on June 14, 2016. "We'd go to the state library and look up historial records for the different football teams and how they did under certain circumstances. ... We'd come up with tables that would be cross-referenced when different plays were called." Gridiron Grit - Computerized football for the ATARI - article in Antic magazine:  http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n7/gridirongrit.html Gridiron Glory in the winter 1982 APX catalog Bob's software at AtariMania Gridiron Glory manual: https://archive.org/details/APXGridironGloryV3

Dan Rohr, Three R Math software Dan Rohr was the author of three educational programs which were published by Atari Program Exchange. Three R Math System first appeared in the summer 1982 APX catalog, where it won second prize in the education category. The Three R Math Classroom Kit was available in the spring 1983 APX catalog, where it won third prize in the education category. Finally, the Three R Math Home System was first available in the summer 1983 APX catalog. This interview took place on June 13, 2016. "Fortunately, the person that rejected it took the time to critique all of his objections that he had to it. And I said, 'Hmm, this person has never been in a classroom.'" Three R Math System in the summer 1982 APX catalog Three R Math Classroom Kit in the spring 1983 APX catalog Three R Math Home System in the summer 1983 APX catalog Dan's software at AtariMania

Marlin Bates, R-Time 8 Replacement Cartridge In 1986, ICD released the R-Time 8, a real-time clock cartridge for the Atari 8-bit computers. One reason this is an interesting cartridge is that it has a pass-through port: you can plug another cartridge into it, then plug the R-Time 8 into the Atari. In 2016, Marlin Bates created the R-Time 8 Replacement Cartridge, a workalike cart. On June 7, 2016, we talked about that project. Marlin is better known to people on the AtariAge forums as MacRorie. During this interview, we talk about Romox — I previously interviewed the CEO of Romox, Tim McGuinness. Teaser quote: "You don't know enough to not do it, and by the time you're halfway in you go 'Oh, I guess I gotta do it now.'" Macrorie on AtariAge Bates motel BBS: telnet://76.14.174.25:8888 Interview with Romox founder Tim McGuinness Video of this interview

Steve Robinson: Diggerbonk and Bean Machine Steve Robinson is the author of two games that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Diggerbonk and Bean Machine. Diggerbonk was first available in the spring 1983 APX catalog. Bean Machine first appeared in the summer 1983 APX catalog, where it won third prize in the Entertainment category. This interview took place on June 13, 2016. A video version of this interview is available, check the show notes at AtariPodcast.com for the link. In it, we talk about Jack Palevich whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quote: "When they first published the game, they took the wrong version. I sent them the wrong version, not knowing that it had a bug in it. And — I got third prize anyway." Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/eNBn40q_BQ4 Diggerbonk in spring 1983 APX catalog  Bean Machine in summer 1983 APX catalog  AtariMania's list of Steve's games  Jack Palevich interview

Alison Woods, Atari Graphic Designer Alison Woods was a graphic designer at Atari from 1982 to 1984. She designed the packaging for the computer versions of Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Pole Position, Robotron, Food Fight, and other products. Later, she was Vice President and Creative Director at Kidsoft, a CD-ROM based software magazine for kids. This interview took place on May 26, 2016. Teaser quotes: "I wanted to have an exploding robot on the front of the package, and that was deemed too violent." "One guy said to the other guy, 'See? I told you not to pay 'em!' I'm thinking, 'Oh my god, what am I dealing with here?'" Alison's web site: http://www.alisonwoods.com

Mitchell Waite, computer book author and publisher Mitchell Waite is a prolific computer book author and publisher. His first book "Projects in Sight, Sound and Sensation" was published in 1974. He founded the Waite Group in 1977, which published more than 80 titles in the computer programming field. He co-authored Computer Animation Primer (with David Fox) and Your Own Computer (with Michael Pardee), the 8086/8088 Microprocessor Primer with Christopher Morgan, CP/M Bible, and wrote, co-wrote, or published dozens of other computer books.  This interview took place on June 16, 2016.  Teaser quote: "'I don't even have an office yet,' you know? And he said 'Well you better get one.' And I said, 'But I don't even have a corporation.' He said, 'You better start one.'" Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/x1dU7b4ZkHA Mitch's web site: http://www.mitchwaite.com Mitch on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Waite Full text of Computer Graphics Primer: http://www.atariarchives.org/cgp/ Full t

David Duberman, Antic magazine editor David Duberman was an editor at Antic magazine (one of the two major Atari magazines in the United States). Later he was in customer support at Synapse software, then user group coordinator at Atari during the Tramiel era. This interview took place on June 17, 2016. In it, we discuss Jim Capparell, whom I previously interviewed. Teaser quotes: "We were now in the computer age, so we had to print these weird [ATASCII] characters that were probably never printed in a magazine before." "They [the Tramiels] would not spend a single penny that didn't absolutely have to be spent." David's articles in Antic Jim Capparell interview

  Michael Boucher, MECC Michael Boucher was a programmer at MECC — Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium — from September 1980 through August 1984, where he worked on educational software for the Apple // and Atari 8-bit computers. His projects included Oregon Trail and Odell Lake. This interview took place on June 14, 2016. Video of this interview: https://youtu.be/heuR8_eFFJI Teaser quotes: "I had the honor of working with the finest group of dropouts I have ever had the pleasure of associating with." "...Fairly sophisticated bit of code. And happily, nobody told us that it was hard, and being high school students, we didn't have the experience to know it was difficult. So we just did it."

Hung Pham, APX Game Show Hung Pham wrote one program for Atari Program Exchange: Game Show, a game based on the Family Feud TV program (although the catalog never says that explicitly.) Game Show was first available in the Winter 1982-1983 APX catalog. This interview took place on June 10, 2016. "The reviewer was playing, and pretty soon he turned around -- a crowd of people was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder, trying to play. So, hey! This might have some potential." Game Show in the Winter 1982-1983 APX catalog Game show at Atarimania

Steve Stone, POKEY and ANTIC layout design Steve Stone worked at Atari from 1977 through 1980, where he was a chip layout designer and engineer. He worked on the layout design for the POKEY and ANTIC chips. After Atari, he founded Macro Dienamics, Inc., a chip design firm that worked on custom chips for the Amiga computer. This interview took place on August 29, 2016. Video of this interview: https://youtu.be/JhGPasK_RmE "The concept of someone flying in from Manhattan for the week, wearing thousand-dollar suits, being chauffeured around the valley and then flying out on the weekends -- was quite a contrast..." Steve sent me a follow-up email after our interview: "It was a pleasure speaking with you yesterday. The conversation jarred my memory. There is a few more comments, and some clarification that I would like to add. I believe I stated that the disk capacity we used for the chip layout was 25-80KB. While it was literally as big as a washing machine, it was 25-80MB. Also, I may have left out Warren questi

Gary Furr, AtariWriter Product Manager, Printer Drivers Gary Furr was Product Manager for productivity software for the Atari home computer division, where his claim to fame was being the manager for the AtariWriter word processor. He also published a set of AtariWriter printer drivers, which were first published through Atari Program Exchange — the product first appeared in the fall 1983 APX catalog, with support for 10 printers — then was sold directly by Gary, and eventually grew to support about 150 printers. After Atari, he worked at Datasoft. This interview took place on August 29, 2016. "I left the meeting, went directly back to my cubicle, called the programmer, and said 'There's been a little hiccup.'" AtariWriter Designer Sells All (1997) AtariWriter Printer Drivers in the fall 1983 APX catalog AtariWriter Printer Drivers at AtariMania Inverse ATASCII on AtariWriter