Antic The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Tom Halfhill, Compute! Magazine Tom R. Halfhill was features editor of Compute! Magazine, and was later launch editor of several other magazines from that publisher, including Compute!'s Gazette, Compute's Atari ST, and Compute!'s PC Magazine. He co-wrote the book Advanced Amiga Basic and was later editor of Game Players magazine. This interview took place on March 29, 2016. Teaser quotes: "SpeedScript was written in a couple of months by our 18-year-old, untrained programmer. ... You've got a whole staff of professional programmers, and frankly, if you can't do better than him, then you don't deserve to be in business." "There was a full page ad for ... I think it was a strip poker program. ... He got a complaint letter, Robert [Locke] did, from a school principal at an elementary school somewhere in the U.S., saying, 'We've got this magazine in our school library, we can't have strip poker in there. This is unacceptable!'" Tom's web site: http://www.halfhill.com Some of Tom's articles in Compute! Nessie g

Richard Mansfield: Compute! Magazine, 6502 Machine Language Books Richard Mansfield is author of the best-selling book Machine Language For Beginners, and its sequel, Compute!'s Second Book Of Machine Language, both published by Compute! books. He also wrote Apple Machine Language for Beginners, Commodore 128 Machine Language for Beginners, and a bevy of other computer books continuing right up through today. Richard was also a long-time editor of Compute! magazine. This interview took place on March 17 2016. Teaser quotes: "It was kind of a lucky thing for me, the timing was right. I had the writing skill and I also had an intense curiosity and interest about computers and programming." "Unfortunately, the amateur computer programmer is a memory, really. If some kid gets into computing now he basically has a lot of algebra, a lot of other hurdles that are meaningless, but they're there." Full text of Machine Language For Beginners: http://www.atariarchives.org/mlb/ Machine Language For Beginners at archive.

  Richard Wiitala, Number Blast Richard Wiitala was the author of Number Blast, an arithmetic teaching program that was published by Atari Program Exchange. Number Blast first appeared in the winter 1981 APX catalog, where it won third prize in the education category.  This interview took place on February 1, 2016. After we talked, Richard send me 23 pages of scans of his correspondance with Atari Program Exchange, including the letters that included his royalty statements, and info about BASIC language upgrades and software compatibility with the Atari 1200XL computer. Those are now available for your perusal at the Internet Archive. Teaser quote: "When I applied for a copyright on this, there weren't really a lot of guidelines about copyrighting computer programs back then." Number Blast in the Winter 1981 APX catalog Wiitala's APX correspondence: https://archive.org/details/APX_Programmer_Correspondence

Ray Citak, music education software Ray Citak wrote Name the Notes, a music education program that was accepted by Atari Program Exchange, and won an APX award, but never appeared in the APX catalog. (The program is, as far as we know, lost to the sands of time.)  He also wrote the program Keyed Up, "a music education program disguised as a goofy game," which appeared in Antic magazine, and Lightning Renumber, an automatic line numbering program that was published in Compute! magazine.   This interview took place on January 30, 2016.   Teaser quote: "The trick to learning, of course, was knowing the computer. Of course, I just devoured books on what the computer could do and what its capabilities were when you plugged in different values in different places."   Links: Keyed Up in ANTIC magazine: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n4/keyedup.html Ray's articles in Compute!: http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/index/index.php?author=Raymond+Citak

Ted Toal, Cyan Engineering Ted Toal was a software developer at Cyan Engineering, an Atari research group. He worked on Atari's unreleased picture telephone as well as other projects. This interview took place January 24, 2016. Teaser quote: "He wanted to have toys that would be able to listen to sounds in a room and figure out where the sounds were coming from, and like maybe be able to turn towards the sound."

Peter Donoso, Atari Explorer magazine Peter Donoso was managing editor of Atari Explorer magazine from September 1991 through February 1993, primarily covering Atari during the ST era. This interview took place on November 23, 2015. Teaser quote: "[Jack Tramiel's] vision and his ability to find technology that was ahead of the market ... was just remarkable. I mean, he continually had these visionary ideas which he was able to actually implement.”

Bob Brodie: User Group Manager for Atari Hi and welcome to another special interview edition of Antic the Atari 8-bit computer podcast.  My name is Randy Kindig and I'll be providing the interview questions for this episode.  I'm extremely pleased to provide this interview with a name well-known in the Atari community: Mr. Bob Brodie.  Bob worked for Atari as User Group Manager and later Director of Communications from 1989 to 1994.  Bob was directly involved in many of the Atarifests in that timeframe and I recall personally meeting him at an Atarifest in Indianapolis.  I think you'll find that he has many interesting stories and perspectives concerning his time working for the Tramiels and even a story involving an Atari 1450XLD.  I personally want to thank Bob for the time he spent talking with me, even calling me back when he remembered additional information or stories he thought might interest everyone.  Bob is a classy guy and I enjoyed talking with him immensely. This interview took place on February

John Harris: Jawbreaker, Frogger, Mouskattack John Harris created the games Jawbreaker, Frogger, and Mouskattack for the Atari 8-bit computers. He worked at Sierra On-Line and later Synapse Software. He later created video character generator systems based on the Atari machines. This interview took place June 10, 2016. Teaser quotes: "Literally — I mean, a day or two difference could have made — gosh, my goodness, what a huge difference in my life if I had gone into that store a couple of days earlier." "He just said, you know, 'I'll give you $1,500 a month to live on for two months, and if you haven't finished a game in two months, you won't make it in this industry anyway.'" "The general public opinion was, 'Oh, this is just more Jawbreaker.' ... But I still kind of have a fondness for it." AtariMania's list of John's software John in Halcyon Days: http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/HARRIS.HTM Jawbreaker in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawbreaker_(video_game) John Harris in Wikipedia: https:/

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

Eric Freeman: Bootleg and Weakon Eric Freeman published two programs through Atari Program Exchange: Bootleg and Weakon. Bootleg first appeared in the summer 1983 APX catalog: the catalog called it "a search-for-booty maze game submitted from New Zealand," and it received a rare full-page description in that catalog. Weakon was only available in the final APX catalog, winter 1983. That game was later published by Antic software. This interview took place on May 26, 2016 — for me — May 27 for Eric in New Zealand. Teaser quote: "I actually took both of the games on an overseas holiday with me and knocked on the door at Atari. This would have been in March of 1983. And someone from the Atari Program Exchange came out to meet me." Bootleg in the summer 1983 APX catalog Weakon in the winter 1983 APX catalog Eric's games at AtariMania Wikipedia on W and Z bosons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W_and_Z_bosons

Max Manowski, Wizard’s Revenge Max Manowski wrote Adventure, a text adventure game that he released into the public domain to Atari users groups. Later, he modified Adventure and called it Wizard's Revenge, which was published by Atari Program Exchange. Wizard's Revenge was available in the fall 1981 APX catalog, the very first APX catalog. This interview took place May 27, 2016. Teaser quote: "In this adventure, each node that you went to was a separate file. And if you went to a node that didn't exist, then you could write the node as you were playing. You could write the node and say what happened." AtariMania's list of Max's games Wizard's Revenge in the fall 1981 APX catalog Gaming After 40 playthrough of Wizard's Revenge Wizard's Revenge re-typed by the author

Frank Paris, Mathlib for Deep Blue C Frank Paris wrote Mathlib for Deep Blue C, a library of floating-point functions for use with the Deep Blue C programming language. Mathlib first appeared in the fall 1983 APX catalog, where it won second prize in the systems/telecommunications category. The Deep Blue C compiler was written by John Palevich, whom I previously interviewed. You can contact Frank at: frankparis at comcast dot net. This interview took place on May 27, 2016. Teaser quote: "6502 assembly language, it was just a dream come true for me. I mean, it was just so simple compared to the languages I was used to." Mathlib entry in the fall 1983 catalog Frank's book, The Embrace of Celestia: http://online.flipbuilder.com/lasm/tqas/ Interview with John Palevich

In this three-year anniversary episode of Antic the Atari 8-bit podcast — we uncover an abundance of Atari source code, documentation, and engineering notes; Bill explores Five Dots, a new game; and we debate the fate of the 1200XL. 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 Norwegian Museum of Science & Technology Morse Code Tutor at APX Paul Westphal at Eight Bit Fix - http://www.eightbitfix.com PromoVision Pro-1000 software at archive.org PromoVision discussion at AtariAge Promovision Pro 1000 Youtube video Wes Newell Interview Source and Manuals Discussion on AtariAge Link to all Wes Newell scans on Internet Archive   Databar - The Monthly Bar Code Software Magazine TI 994/A edition Atari Databar program from magazine Atari Databar programs in ATR format - https://archive.org/detai

Kathy and Phil Bergh, I'm Different! Kathy and Phil Bergh published one program through Atari Program Exchange: I'm Different!, which first appeared in the inaugural APX catalog, winter 1982-1983. The program won third prize in the Education category in that catalog. It was one of the few commercial programs developed in the PILOT language. Kathy and Phil also wrote three articles — also about PILOT — for ANTIC magazine. This interview took place on May 24, 2016. Kathy and Phil's articles in ANTIC I'm Different in the winter 1982 APX catalog I'm Different at AtariMania I'm Different on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCaFpm9LHcE Teaser quotes: "'Consumer Reports Tests Educational Software' and so he made a big production of 'Let's see if our game is in it.' ... and it turns out, Consumer Reports did indeed review our game." "They must have sold a few because I remember getting a check for $12."

David Thiel, musician and interactive audio David Thiel is a musician and interactive audio designer. At Gottlieb, he did the sound for arcade games including Reactor, Q*Bert, and Mach 3. At Action Graphics, David created the sound for Artillery Duel for the Atari 2600, and Beamrider and Pitstop for the Atari computers. And at Free Radical Software/Incredible Technologies, he worked on Winter Games for the Amiga and Atari ST. He has created the sound and music for dozens of other computer games and pinball games. This interview took place on May 17, 2016. GDRI's list of David's games: http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/David_Thiel 2013 interview with David: http://www.c64.com/gt_display_interview.php?interview=31 Teaser quotes: "In coin op, I had a sound board. I had a processor. It's my sandbox, I can do anything I want. But the minute you're doing console work, you're now seen by the programmer as a parasitic element that eats CPU and storage, and poops out sound." "I think, ultimately, doing the Q*Be

Gary Yost, The Catalog and Cyber Studio Gary Yost worked at Antic magazine, in product development. He was the man behind The Catalog, Antic's catalog of third-party software. When Atari Program Exchange was shut down, he contacted programmers from APX to re-publish their works in's Antic's Catalog. Gary was instrumental in creating CAD 3-D (written by Tom Hudson), Cybermate, and the Cyber Studio graphics suite — which were all published by Antic — and in commercializing the StereoTek 3D Glasses, which provided a 3-D view of the Atari ST’s screen. After Antic, he went on to form The Yost Group which created and licensed a number of products to Autodesk, including Autodesk Animator, Autodesk 3D Studio, and Autodesk 3DS MAX. This interview took place on May 16, 2016. In it, we discuss Ted Kahn, Jim Capparell, and Tom Hudson, all of whom I have previously interviewed. Gary's web site: http://GaryYost.com Martin Doudoroff's history of the Antic Cyber graphics software: http://doudoroff.com/atari/history1.html An

Fred Parr, MACE newsletter Fred Parr was a member of MACE — the Michigan Atari Computer Enthusiasts group, and the man who printed the club newsletter. You can find scans of the newsletter at archive.org. This interview took place on April 22, 2016. It in, we discuss Arlan Levitan, whom I previously interviewed. "And I just marvel that something that crude, in today's perspective, could have actually given is so much enjoyment and hope about the future."

Roland Gustafsson, Print Shop Companion Roland Gustafsson wrote The Print Shop Companion, an add-on package for Brøderbund's popular Print Shop software, which added a printable calendar, font and page border editors, and other features. He first developed the program for the Apple ][, then ported the software to the Atari 800 and Commodore 64. In the retro-computing community, however, Roland is best known for his work on the Apple ][, where he specialized in designing copy protection as well as the RWTS18 disk format, which squeezed extra data onto the Apple's floppy disk. This interview took place on May 17, 2016. Teaser quotes: "There was a guy in Switzerland who would hack into a telephone booth ... He would phone me and talk to me and tell me, 'Oh, your copy protection is great. I enjoy breaking your copy protection more than the games.'" "The same concepts, where you make a good decision on the design work, the framework of what you're working on, the foundation — still applies today for modern softwar

Chuck Gibke, Air Raid! Chuck Gibke, published one piece of software for the Atari computer: Air Raid!. The game first appeared in the winter 1982-1983 APX catalog, where it won second prize in the entertainment category. This interview took place on April 22, 2016. "Winning the contest generated a little bit of prizes you could pick from Atari stuff, which was pretty amazing. There was like $2,000 worth of stuff. ... Several boxes of stuff showing up at the house one day and I thought that was just the greatest thing." Download Air Raid! http://www.atariarchives.org/APX/showinfo.php?cat=20187 Air Raid! in the Winter 1982 APX catalog

Steve Cavin: Minotaur, Juggles' House, Juggles' Rainbow  Steve Cavin started at Cromenco where he built computer kits and tested hardware. Later he wrote several programs for the Atari 8-bit computers: Minotaur, which was published by Atari Program Exchange — it first appeared in the fall 1981 APX catalog; and the Atari versions of Juggles' House and Juggles' Rainbow, educational games published by The Learning Company. He also wrote “The Five Letters", a hangman-style game that - so far - I haven't been able to find online. This interview took place April 22, 2016. "He looked at the screens and said, "Those don't look like the test programs that we normally use," and I said 'Well, they're not. I wrote my own. ... They're better than the other ones.'" Steve's book, "To Find Out": http://amzn.to/1SBbRCJ Minotaur in the fall 1981 APX catalog Steve's games list on AtariMania