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
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Panelists: Ken Gagne (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, Michael Mulhern, and Jack Nutting

Host’s Topic: $(document).ready(function() {alert(“Welcome, TRS-80 user.”);});

How retro-accessible do we need to make our websites?

Retro Computing News:

• PocketCHIP
• Fignition
  • Keyboard
• C64 keeps on keeping on
• New MicroBee
  • Facebook post about MicroBee
• Eureka, a Latin poem composer from 1845
• Silicon Cowboys
• Alternate connector for Atari SIO device by Ray Ataergen, aka atari8warez on atariage.com
  • Alternative from Lotharek
• RetroChallenge 2016/10
  • list of entries
• IFComp, Interactive Fiction Competition
• Karateka Atari version development disks

Vintage Computer Commercials

• Activision: Grand Prix

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• 8Bitdo’s AP40 Kickstarter

Auction Picks:

• Jack: Another Gramd Priks!
  • The 4500 euro one from before
• Michael: Mimic Systems Spartan
  • photo source
  • More about the Spartan
• Paul: Twiggy drive
  • Lisa 1 bezel
  • Lisa 1 mouse
  • microSci Havac
  • PET 2001-8

Feedback/Discussion:

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

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

Host’s Topic: Mandatory downgrade

If you had to use a legacy operating system as your daily driver, which one would you pick and why?

Retro Computing News:

• ProDOS 2.4.1 released
  • ProDOS 2.4 released
  • ProDOS 2.4.1 in-browser emulation at archive.org
  • Direct link to disk image
  • Why the Apple II ProDOS 2.4 Release is the OS News of the Year
• Mitchell Waite interview on ANTIC
  • also, Michael Boucher, MECC interview
  • ANTIC, The Atari 8-Bit Podcast
• Recovering Atari ST ASIC designs
• Bill Atkinson’s Polaroids of early OS milestones
• No new CFFA3000s for a while
• PacCommEx, Summer 2017
• Apple adds to vintage software collection via eBay
• Apple IIGS turned 30
• Teardown: same product, fifty years apart
• OSEPP Motor Driver
• NodeMCU dev board, includes ESP8266 WiFi microcontroller
• Dara O Briain’s Go 8 bit on Dave
• IT Crowd DVD has subtitles in 1337

Vintage Computer Commercials

• Apple II GS – “Experts”

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• PocketCHIP

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Dust cover for Apple II
  • The Alien for Apple II (sealed)
  • Tandy Color Computer 1 with odd keyboard
• Earl: RARE Vintage Apple III Computer /w 256k ram!
• Jack: Gramd Priks Atari 2600
  • Related: David Crane talks about writing Grand Prix
• Paul: New VIC-20 Datasette drives, almost gone
  • Robot arm
  • Epson QX-16
  • Pencil II
  • SVI 328
  • Mac Memory Disk
  • Review: Macworld March 1985: Memory Disk review (p. 72)

Feedback/Discussion:

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

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Panelists: Michael Mulhern (hosting), Ken Gagne, Paul Hagstrom, and Jack Nutting

Host’s Topic: Old computers de-composing

Dr. Peter Thorne stopped by TNMOC and talked about CSIRAC, Australia’s oldest computer, and indeed the world’s oldest existing computer—and also explained that it will almost certainly not be restored, but kept instead in original, but non-working, condition. Discuss.

Retro Computing News:

• CSIRAC won’t work again
• RCR YouTube channel
• RetroGathering
• RetroChallenge
• 2015 megapodcast (RCR 105)
• CoCo Crew
• How Australia played the world’s first music on a computer (Australian Geographic)
• CSIRAC – the first computer to play music (ABC Science)
• Trevor Pearcey interview (1996)
• A timeline of 1-bit music (1-bit forum)
• The hacker, the scrapheap, and the first Apollo computer
• Lode Runner Total Recall (HTML5)
• Omnivore, Jumpman Level Design contest
• Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation
  • Chris Klimas interview (Polygamer #50)
• “Multimedia LPs” on the RCR Facebook group
• Vinyl Data (kempa.com)
• CloudT Model 100 emulator in a web page
• VirtualT Model 100 emulator
• Sierra classics now on Steam
• GOG.com
• PocketChip
• Music excerpts from:
  • CSIRAC music, including samples
  • Apple II Electric Duet
  • Altair 8800

Vintage Computer Commercials

• The computer “CSIRAC” (1965)
• CocoFest (April 22-23, 2017)

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• QWERKYWRITER

Auction Picks:

• Jack: Enterprise 128
  • See also: Enterprise on Wikipedia
  • See also: RCR 69 for one earlier mention
• Michael: When Computers meet Vinyl
  • Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Home Computers LP
  • Music From Mathematics (played by IBM7090)
  • 8-Bit Weapon, Silo64 Soundtrack
  • Also: Greatest baseball game never played
  • And: Drop /// Inches episode 15
• Paul: ORIC-1
  • ACE Discovery 500
  • See also: ACE Discovery 500 ads

Feedback/Discussion:

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

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Panelists: Jack Nutting (hosting), Paul Hagstrom, and Michael Mulhern

Host’s Topic: 35 years since there wasn’t yet an IBM PC

The IBM PC launched into a world of many personal computer brands, types, operating systems, and eventually took the label and became the ubiquitous and standard PC (and PC-compatible), leaving most other systems fallen by the wayside.

Retro Computing News:

• The first IBM PC was released 35 years ago (12/8/1981) (The Telegraph)
• John Draper, speaking from VCF Berlin 2015
  • Secrets of the Little Blue Box
• Vampire Accelerator, now for Amiga 500
• The Rise and Fall of the Gopher protocol
• How did the Cauzin Softstrip encode the programs?
• ANTIC interview 115: Bob Brass and Peter D’Amato, Cauzin Softstrip
• Why the IBM PC used an Intel 8088

Vintage Computer Commercial

• IBM Personal Computer, released 12/8/1981

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Tulip Table replica

Auction Picks:

• Michael: Amiga 500 Main Board serviced and ready to go
  • Amiga 500 dust cover
  • Gotek Floppy Emulator, Amiga-ready
• Paul: Sinclair ZX-8what?
  • Triton Turbo XT
  • See also Info about Triton Turbo XT
  • IBM 5155, not working but cheap
  • IBM 5150, A probably
  • IBM 3270 PC
  • See also Info about IBM 3270 PC
  • PDP 11/34 and more
  • Apollo 11 IBM press kit
  • See also other Apollo 11 things from that seller

Feedback/Discussion:

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

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Panelists: The regular “How To Retro History of Open Chicken Missile Antics Roundtable” crew.

Host’s Topic: Chicken Missile?

At KansasFest 2016, on July 22, 2016, a crowd of retrocomputing podcasters sat around a table in a room and spoke about KansasFest itself and about our computing histories.

There was one microphone in a big room, so the audio is less refined than it is in our usual episodes, but it should be still comprehensible.

Clockwise, from Ken, the participants were:

• Ken Gagne of Retrocomputing Roundtable, Polygamer, and Indiesider
• Kevin Savetz of Antic: The Atari 8-bit Podcast
• Rob McMullen of Player/Missile
• Michael Mulhern of Retrocomputing Roundtable
• John Leake of RetroMacCast
• Todd George of Chicken Lips Radio
• Charles Mangin of How II
• Jeff Salzman of The History Of Personal Computing
• Quinn Dunki of Open Apple
• Carrington Vanston of Retrocomputing Roundtable and 1MHz
• Paul Hagstrom of Retrocomputing Roundtable and Drop /// Inches

This “megapodcast” recording has appeared at least on the Open Apple feed as well, and might appear in other feeds. Wherever you hear it, it’s the same, so if you’ve heard it before, feel free to skip ahead to RCR Episode 135.

Feedback/Discussion:

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

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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Ken Gagne, Michael Mulhern, and Carrington Vanston

Host’s Topic: I’ve a feeling we’re not in Missouri anymore

All of us are now back in our respective countries after KansasFest and.

Retro Computing News:

• Margaret Hamilton’s introduction (July 2001, AGC conference 1)
  • Don Eyles walks through AGC source code
  • The Code that Took America to the Moon Was Just Published to GitHub
• Bungie West as documented on the Oni wiki OniGalore
• VCF Midwest 11 September 10-11, 2016, Elk Grove, IL.
• What it was like to work at Xerox PARC
• Seymour Papert passed away
• Michael’s night at the Museum
• Gary Kildall in his own words
• TRS-Box Serial
• M1SE Project
• M3SE Project
• TRS-Box: Dropbox for TRS-80 microcomputers
• TRS-80 Trash Talk Podcast
• Nintendo Power in Internet Archive (actually, not anymore.)
• Apple Orchard on Internet Archive
• Apple Orchard, Paul’s organized page of scans
• Alto Restoration and Emulator
• AtomBusMon 6502 and friends on drop-in FPGA

Vintage Computer Commercial

• Kaypro: The Complete Computer

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Robot Turtles

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Ergotron MacTilt stand
• Ken: Oregon Trail card game
• Michael: Amiga 1200 68040 MacroSystem Accelerator Card Board
• Paul: Altair 8800b set
  • An absurd Sinclair lot
  • AOL person

Feedback/Discussion:

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

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Panelists: Kevin Savetz (hosting), Mark Pilgrim, Kate Szkotnicki, Lisa Allyn, and Jeff Blakeney (contestants)

Host’s Topic: Kevin Loves Apples

After one too many repetitions of his name, Kevin Savetz materialized at KansasFest 2016 and wrested control of the Retrocomputing Roundtable. A panel of four attendees compete in Apple-II-related games, recorded live at KansasFest.

• KansasFest

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Panelists: Earl Evans and Randy Kindig (hosting), and Evan Koblentz (expert witness)

Host’s Topic: Vintage Computer Festival West

Randy and Earl wonder about VCF West, and Evan comes to the rescue, in this Very Special Episode of the Retrocomputing Roundtable (recorded jointly with Floppy Days). Also, the first of two consecutive episodes crossing over with ANTIC.

Sharing is caring! Alert everyone you know who might be interested in going to VCF West XI that it’s happening, soon. Always better to learn about these things before they happen, rather than after they’re over.

• Vintage Computer Federation
• Vintage Computer Festival West XI
  • August 6-7, 2016, at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA.
• Floppy Days podcast
• ANTIC podcast

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

Host’s Topic: What good is source code?

As more original source code becomes available (we’ll talk about a couple [Apollo Guidance Computer and LucasArts’ Habitat] later this episode—but before that fairly high profile source code from Apple II DOS, Xerox Alto, Microsoft BASIC, CP/M, Prince of Persia, Glider, Wander, Star Raiders, and more), what kinds of things do we hope to learn, or have we learned, or can we do with these? Are they just historical artifacts, or can they be used in the future as learning tools, or in new software, or…?

Retro Computing News:

• Vintage Computer Festival Zurich, November 19-20, 2016
• Inverse ATASCII (S1EB1 Atari Portfolio)
• Easy to Learn, Hard to Master—The Fate of Atari (documentary Kickstarter)
• The Code that Took America to the Moon Was Just Published to GitHub
• Don Eyles walks through AGC source code
• AGC source (Apollo 11) on Github
• “Computer for Apollo” video
• Digital Apollo (book)
• CommVEX 12.0, Saturday July 30, and Sunday July 31
  • Bill Seiler (VIC-20) will be there
• 7 Classic Home PC Follow-Ups That Were Never Released
• Source code to LucasArts’ Habitat posted
  • Habitat on Github
• How To Write a History of Writing Software
• PocketCHIP
• Blake Patterson (Byte Cellar) finds old photos of his TI 99/4a
• Retrohistories: The Prehistory of Bungie
• Megaprocessor makes mainstream news as Tetris machine
• Brianna Wu asks Millennials to identify a modem
• Tetris on the Green building

Vintage Computer Commercial

• Quantum Link/Habitat

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• AGC DSKY model

Auction Picks:

• Carrington: Mac Performa 475 with Apple IIe card
  • AppleVision 750AV Display
• Earl: Apple Graphics Tablet
• Paul: Radio Controlled Flight Simulator for PC
  • UNIVAC ashtray
  • Lisa pile, pickup only
• Jack: Jet TV Electromagnetica HC-85 Computer
  • See also: Electromagnetica Jet on old-computers.com

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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