Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston)

Host’s Topic: Venturing down the retro upgrade path

How far should we go down the upgrade path toward modernity? If you have a, say, 68030 Mac, would you want to put a third-party 68040 accelerator in it? You would have in 1993. But what is the point today?

Retro Computing News:

• Vintage computer game code wheels online
• EEVblog teardown of an OCC-1
• Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor?
• Future Shocked: reverse engineering the FuturePad controller for the Apple IIgs
• Kickstarter: “The Commodore Story – Changing the World 8 Bits at a Time.”
• Internal Apple memos on SSAFE
• Upcoming festival/convention/show roundup:
  • Mar 31-Apr 2: VCF East XII. Wall, NJ
  • Apr 22-23: 26th annual Last Chicago CoCoFest. Lombard, IL
  • Apr 29-30: VCF Southeast 5.0. Roswell, GA
  • Apr 29-May 1: VCF Europa 18.0. Munich, Germany
  • Jun 10-11: Pacific Commodore Expo Northwest. Seattle, WA, LCM+L
  • Jul 18-23: KansasFest. Kansas City, MO (and golden tickets)
  • Jul 29-30: CommVEx v13. Las Vegas, NV
  • Aug 5-6: VCF West XII. Mountain View, CA
  • Dec?: World of Commodore. Toronto, Canada
• Tony Diaz on Retroblasting
• Affinity Designer
• Silicon Valley Revolution (trailer)

Vintage Computer Commercial

• IBM Quietwriter typewriter

Retro Computing Gift Idea: Rasberry Pi Zero W

• Official page
• Adafruit page
• Micro Center page

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Power Macintosh 8500
  • IBM Quietwriter
  • Apple Studio Display (NOS)
• Earl: Siemens TS100 Teletype Machine
• Paul: Lisa 1 bezel
  • Lisa 1 (“Twiggy”) drives
  • PDP-8/S
  • Expando-vision
  • Epson HX-20
  • Etherwave adapter

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
• Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Earl Evans (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, Michael Mulhern, and Carrington Vanston)

Host’s Topic: Big collections

Big collections — what are the implications? Saving systems from oblivion? Or, perhaps, removing them from the hands of enthusiasts who might happily use them? How to enjoy a large collection — viewing, using, showcasing?

Retro Computing News:

• The Finnish Museum for Games is now open
  • Video tour of the Finnish Museum for Games
• “Under the Radar” documentary
• Imaging 8″ floppy disks for TRS-80 Model II/16
• European Vintage Computer Festival 18.0, April 29-30, 2017, in Munich.
  • VCFe 18.0 Schedule (in German)
• The Making of Apple’s HAL ad
• Adafruit HAL replica instructions
• Forth: The Hacker’s Language
• William Wong: Forth Redesigned
• William Wong on Rising Star
• “A Gathering of Magicians” (from “Man Alive”, CBC 1984)
• Donner 3000 restoration
• Commodore PET restoration
• Inexhibit.com: Holborn 9100
• Inexhibit.com: Commodore PET 2001
• Inexhibit.com: Programma 101
• The Untold Story of Nolan Bushnell’s 1980s Tech Incubator
• C64 8 Bit Civilizations
• Finding the magazine that was in Wargames
• MacWorld UK’s macOS emulator roundup
• Tezza’s Windows emulator roundup
• ZX81stuff.org, ZX-81 archives and emulator
• Burroughs 220 simulator
• ENIAC day in Philadelphia (Feb 15)




• ENIAC article, with link to Java simulator
• SCELBI app for macOS
• TI-99/4a page on oldcomputers.net (featuring the sidecars photo)
• Yale names Grace Hopper College
• (non-gaming) DOS emulator
• Clipper Summer ’87 unboxing video

Vintage Computer Commercial

• Atari ST – How The Computer Industry Works

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Bluetooth Boombox

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: TRS-80 Microcomputer Newsletter Reprints
  • TRS-80 Microcomputer Newsletters 1980
  • TRS-80 Colour Computer 2 case top
• Earl: DEC letterwriter la-100
• Michael: Intel 4004 CPU Print
  • 80386ex uncut wafer
  • 80486DX2 CPU die
• Paul: Intel 486 original CAD layout
  • Sanyo VM-4509
  • Time-Life books, Understanding Computers
  • Etch-a-sketch screenie
  • TI 99/4a 32K RAM sidecar
  • Chicagoland Displaywriters

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
• Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting) and Carrington Vanston (not hosting)

Host’s Topic: The next new old thing

So, we’re kind of experts on something. Or we’re familiar with something. But part of the fun of the hobby is seeing what else there was that we never got involved in. Now that we have our new modern brains, what old things are you interested in going back and learning? (Forth? Cobol? Inform? Mainframes? Alternative platform?) Is our modern brain going to make it easier?

Retro Computing News:

• Apple2BuildPipeline
• Inform
• A Reader’s Guide to Microcomputer Books
• Chicago Classic Computing
• Retrogame.tv
• Dial-a-Grue
• RetroGathering Feb 4, 2017
• proxxima038 on G+
• proxxima038 on YouTube
• Volta V computer
• You are not expected to understand this.
• Lion’s commentary (Wikipedia)
• Comment in github
• Dagen Brock: The making of Applezini
• A downloadable software library for real or virtual Exidy Sorcerors
• I’ve been playing the same game of Civilization II for almost 10 years. This is the result.
• Dystopia: What a game of Civilization II looks like after 10 years
• Passport on Github

Vintage Computer Commercials

• Macintosh 1984 ad

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Civilization: The board game

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Apple IIc model A2S4100
  • Apple Studio Display M4551
• Paul: ATR-8000 (and stealthy Nintendo drive)
  • Apple Network Server
  • Epson QX-10 system
  • Northstar Horizon
  • Osborne Vixen
  • Columbia Commander M64 Shoebox computer
  • See also: aximel.com page about Columbia Commander M64

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
• Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Ken Gagne (hosting), Earl Evans, Paul Hagstrom, and Carrington Vanston

Host’s Topic: What’s your favorite retrogaming input device?

What’s your preference for retrogaming? On original hardware, on new hardware?

Retro Computing News:

• Atari Gotcha
• Tube Tunes podcast
• Word for Windows 1.1a source code at CHM
• Norway to become first country to switch off FM radio
• Chris Torrence reviews 8bitdo’s AP40
• BBC, “Programming in the early days of the computer age”
• Viva Amiga documentary
• Ars Technica: “People still use the Amiga today”
• Doomed: The Embers of Amiga FPS
• Retro-inspired computer built with a Raspberry Pi
• Ms. Pac-Man GDC 2016 post-mortem
• GDC Post-mortem for Infocom Zork
• GDC Post-mortem for Activision Pitfall
• The elusive Palm OS 5.5 Garnet emulator for Windows/Linux
• Compiling a MacOS 8 application on macOS Sierra
• Vintage IRMA boards
• Drop /// Inches podcast
• Twin Peaks FWWM FAQ
• Hercules System/370 emulator
• VintageIsTheNewOld Vintage computer podcast roundup

Vintage Computer Commercials

• 1986 Vintage IBM Computer Commercial

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Magnetic core memory shield for Arduino

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Big lot of Silicon Graphics computers for sale in Sweden
• Earl: HUGHES-AIRCRAFT-WD10202-WD12534-r-logic-BOARD-with-daughter-card
• Paul: MP32C64
  • XT CF Lite
  • Dancing Demon
  • Applesoft manual

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
• Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Michael Mulhern, and Carrington Vanston

Host’s Topic: The new retro

The calendar has flipped over again, to 2017. How does that affect what we consider to be “retro”?

Retro Computing News:

• It’s 2017.

Vintage Computer Commercials

• “How To”

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
  • Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Michael Mulhern (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, and Carrington Vanston

Host’s Topic: Acquisitions of 2016

Acquisitions of 2016 – What were your favourite finds for the 2016? Any surprises, good or bad? Are you looking for anything in particular for 2017?

Retro Computing News:

• AtariCrypt magazine
• MAGIC-1 TTL-based computer
• LNW-80 L2 BASIC ROM
• Rare M4 Enigma machine sells for £367,000
• German Navy 4-rotor Enigma
• Atari 2600 emulator, in Minecraft
• Apple II web server written in BASIC
• Apple II web server write-up on Hackaday
• Open Apple podcast
• Buckshot: Apple II image converter tool
• Restoration of an Australian IBM 5160
• ASM-80
• Open Apple podcast
• Testing raisin bran
• Steve Wozniak was my computer teacher in 1995
• Eaten by a Grue podcast

Vintage Computer Commercials

• IBM Wangaratta

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Millennium Falcon Multi-Tool

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Macintosh Quadra 840AV
  • Quadra 605 (non-)prototype
• Michael: One Handed Keyboard
  • Twiddler 2
  • One Handed Mouse and Keyboard
  • One GB IDE SSD
• Paul: Russian “DIALOG”
  • TOPO
  • Microsoft BASIC-80 manual
  • Carton o’ disks
  • TI 99/4

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
• Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Michael Mulhern, Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston

Host’s Topic: Replica replica

Replicas, precise or otherwise. What do you think about (near-)perfect replicas? Is our nostalgia for using a new-looking object, or for using an object that was actually produced in the past? Should we worry about replicas getting passed on to people who don’t know them as replicas?

Retro Computing News:

• Oregon Trail card game
• P112 SBC
• Qibec 1-bit 1-instruction CPU
• Rebooteroids released for the Atari Jaguar
• Computers for Apollo
• Linux exploit via 6502
• Listening to the music of Turing’s computer
• Tiny BASIC converted to Intel 8080 assembly
  • related post on CP/M USENET group
• “Stella at 20” at (almost) 20
  • Footage at archive.org
• CDC 6500 restoration
• 2016 Presidential Medals of Freedom: Hamilton, Hopper, (Gates, Gehry)

Vintage Computer Commercials

• Digital computers

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Keyboard waffle iron

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Homebrew IBM Selectric Printer Card for Apple II
  • Panasonic KX-WD55 Daisy-Wheel Printer
  • Rochester Data typewriter interface ad (Spr 1981 Apple Orchard)
  • Portal: A Computer Novel
  • Portal reviews on 1MHz podcast, episode 6
• Earl: Soviet Military Magnetic Ferrite Core Memory Module M–1
• Jack: Packri Monster console
  • See also: Pits of Death (iOS)
• Michael: Caverns of Mordia – Special signed releases, 1 of 20
  • and 20 of 20
• Paul: Diskeeper/Plus v3.0b
  • Mosaic in a box (Spry)
  • Whole Internet catalog
  • Mac Plus walnut cabinet
  • Kenbak–1 computer replica
  • See also: Kenbak–1 kit
  • Replica Beagle Bros
  • See also: Beagle Bros software repository

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
  • Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Michael Mulhern (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, John Linville, and Jack Nutting

Host’s Topic: RetroChallenge 2016/10

Both Michael and John were first time RC judges – How did it go?

Retro Computing News:

• RetroChallenge
• Jumpman: Reverse Engineering the Atari 8-bit Version
• gcc explorer w/ gcc6809 and CMOC
• Burroughs 220 simulator – on an Apple II
  • Michael Mahon describing the simulator at KansasFest
• New Macs omit startup sound
  • Jim Reekes interview on startup chime, Sosumi, etc.
  • How to re-enable the startup chime
  • Potentially surprising conditions for startup
• WITCH at TNMOC
• Nibbler 4 bit CPU project
  • William Buchholz’s PCB version
  • Tindie site where PCBs were sold
  • Other BMOW projects

Vintage Computer Commercials

• Burroughs 1963 Company Status

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Electric bow tie

Auction Picks:

• Jack: World’s dirtiest Atari 810?
• John: The 8088 Project Book
  • “Rare New York Times” CoCo
• Michael: KIM-1
  • KIM-1 in case
  • Epson HX-20
• Paul: Minidac 601
  • Olympia HHC briefcase
  • Forethought Powerpoint 1.0
  • NeXT ADB mouse
  • K-Power: Program along with Joey Ramone
  • K-Power March 1984 on archive.org
  • Barrington E’lite 8” drive

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
  • Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Earl Evans (hosting), Michael Mulhern, and Paul Hagstrom

Host’s Topic: How do you get your retrocomputing content and community?

How do you get your retrocomputing content and community? Forums, Google+, Facebook, Usenet, Mailing lists, IRC?

Retro Computing News:

• Prototype IBM PC, Atari 800-inspired
• Paul Atkinson: “Delete: A design history of computer vapourware” (2013)
• XEGS Cart-by-Cart podcast
• FinApple
• CPUville Z80 kit
• CCTECH discussion of QBUS/Unibus on PDP-11s
• David Greelish Classic Computing – Josh Bensadon Interview (JAIR8080 IMSAI Reproduction)
  • S100Computers.com (John Monahan)
  • 486 Board
  • Trident VGA
  • Reproduction S-100 front panel (Don Caprio)
• ARPANET went down in a spectacular way 36 years ago
• TI 99/4A clone with TMS99105
• Gole F1 Mini PC
• Museu de la Tècnica, in Figueres, as stumbled upon by Marcin Wichary
  • See also Flickr album of trip

Vintage Computer Commercials

• IBM PCjr

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Back to the Future Flux Capacitor Wristwatch

Auction Picks:

• Michael: Commodore 65
  • VZ200
• Paul/Earl: Vintage Victor Model 412 Personal Computer DOS 3.1 PC w/ 602 Mono CRT Monitor
  • Pricey keyboard to go with it
• Earl: Vintage IBM PCjr
• Paul/Carrington: Lorenz telex teletype console desk
• Paul: GIMIX Micro-20 68020 SBC

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
  • Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Michael Mulhern, and Jack Nutting

Host’s Topic: NO CARRIER

Modems. They played a big part in the past, almost entirely useless now. What are your experiences with modems? Do you miss them? Have you worked out a way to use one now?

Retro Computing News:

• Vintage Computer BBS list v3.10a
• Delta City BBS
• Electric Dreams podcast
• Week of the KFest
• @midnight 1998 episode
• Project MF
• The Antique Computers that Just Won’t Quit
• USB to quadrature mouse adaptor (DIY instructions)
• Tezza’s Blog – The New Zealand Poly-1
• A portable MegaProcessor
  • MegaProcessor
• The Three Fives kit
• How to send an email – ‘84 style
• RC2014 Mini Z80 kit

Vintage Computer Commercials

• America On Line, 1995

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Thumbs Up Music Modem Keyboard

Auction Picks:

• Jack: Prototype hologram from Superman game for Atari Cosmos
  • See also: Cosmos
• Michael: Retro Computer (Board) Games:
  • Avalon Hill – VC
  • See also: VASSAL
  • See also: Michael Sternberg’s KansasFest 2014 presentation
  • SSI – President Elect:1988
  • SSG – Carriers at War
• Paul: Altair 680
  • See also: Malcolm in the Middle S04E15 Garage Sale (2003)
  • Osborne 1 with external monitor
  • Quadram QuadLink

Feedback/Discussion:

• @rcrpodcast on Twitter
• Vintage Computer Forum
• RCR Podcast on Facebook
• Throwback Network
  • Throwback Network on Facebook

Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X – link
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars

Listen/Download:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed