Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston

Topic: Little bit taller, COBOLler

We consider 1959, and mostly come up with COBOL, then spend some time in an engagement-generating excercise, not quite remembering a remarkable number of things.

Topic/Feedback links:

• COBOL at Britannica.com
• COBOL at Smithsonian.
• Grace Hopper on Letterman
• Gorilla Banana, a rebranded Seikosha GP-100 (same as VIC-1525)

Retro Computing News:

• TRS-80 Model I/III diagnostic ROM
• Behind the scenes at Berkeley Softworks
• Open Apple #52
• Hell’s Halls type-in program for TI-99/4A
• Hells’ Halls cassette with game and variant
• How Apple I video memory worked

Vintage Computer(-related) commercial:

• Joust and Moon Patrol (Atari)
• Commodore VIC-20

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Joust board game

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • Playskool Play and Learn Computer
  • Avalon Hill Class Struggle game
  • See also: The Story of Class Struggle, America’s Most Popular Marxist Board Game
• Paul:
  • Bell & Howell II+/-
  • Echo II set
  • Rocketry software
  • Griffin iMate selling for what now?
  • Brand new IBM PC, moldy box

A2Stream file:

• a2stream file for this episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr259.a2stream

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
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston

Topic: Tron and Perceptron

In 1958, the Perceptron arrived and Lisp was defined. We talk a bit about things we came across that were associated with 1958.

Topic/Feedback links:

• Setting up Genera in Linux
• Bell Labs 101 modem
• Tennis For Two
• Perceptron
• Open Worm
• Deviant Oliam on opening wristbands and removing tamper-proofing stickers
• LEO: The story of the World’s First Business Computer
• Lyons Electronic Office

Retro Computing News:

• The Lost TRON Documents
• CP/M’s open source status clarified
• The CP/M Email
• CP/M is now freer than it was (Hackaday)
• YouTube on a PET
• system.css
• 98.css

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:

• Blip
• Tron home video game

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• MYST vinyl soundtrack

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • Remarkable computer auction
  • Steve Jobs’ original Apple 1 prototype
  • Steve Wozniak’s Apple Rainbow Glasses
  • Bill Gates’ Tandy Model 100 with note
  • Atari Video Music (Model C240) still sealed in box
  • Apple IIe prototype with French external keyboard
  • Croix de Apple medal
  • Apple Color Plotter
• Paul:
  • Sirius 1982 retail/dealer price list, displays
  • MacPhone
  • Apple III
  • TRS-80 appliance and light controller
  • E-Z Key 60
  • See also: Different E-Z Key 60
  • See also: E-Z Key 60

Closing notes:

• Where Wizards Stay Up Late
• Proving Ground

A2Stream file:

• a2stream file for this episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr258.a2stream

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

Topic: The dot matrix impact

Spending some time revisiting the calmer, quieter days when our printing was done by forcefully slamming pins through an ink ribbon onto perforated paper, pushed along by rotating spikes.

Topic/Feedback links:

• Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Trailer
• Multimedia HyperGuide: A Windows 3.1 Podcast. Episode 11: The History of After Dark. (29 Sep 2020).
• RetroMagazine 15
• Connecting a 1541 drive to a KIM-1 (Commodore History)
• Unboxing the KIM-1 (Dave’s Garage)

Retro Computing News:

• Celebrating 50 years of Smalltalk
• TRS-80 programming competition

Vintage Computer(-related) commercial:

• Okidata Business Printer (1985)
• Epson (1984)

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• 50 Years of Text Games
• See also: 50 Years of Text Games (Kickstarter)
• See also: 50 Years of Text Games (Substack series)

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • On-Line Systems Thrilogy
  • Checkers by David Slate
  • Karateka for Apple II or maybe Commodore
  • Wasteland with Survival Guide
  • See also: Wasteland Survival Guide PDF
• Earl:
  • Radio Shack CGP115 graphics printer/plotter
• Paul:
  • IBM 5161
  • Apple mouse pad
  • Timex/Sinclair 2068
  • Numeric keyball

Closing notes:

• In Search of Darkness, and In Search of Tomorrow

A2Stream file:

• a2stream file for this episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr257.a2stream

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

Topic: Keep calm and carry on

Episode 0 has arrived.

Topic/Feedback links:

• The 6502 overflow flag explained
• The 6502 overflow flag explained mathematically
• The 6502 overflow flag explained at the silicon level
• ZX80 8K BASIC ROM upgrade
• Floppy Days 114: Howell Ivy, Exidy
• The Gaming Chronicles (Kickstarter)
• Robert Henke, CBM 8032 AV

Retro Computing News:

• How to use an Apple II as a dumb terminal for a modern Mac
• Reverse-engineered AOL
• International Research Conference on the History of Computing. 1976
• DOOM ported to A/UX
• Encyclopedia Britannica picks an odd Apple
• Apple museum tour by Woz from 1984

Vintage Computer(-related) commercial:

• AOL commercial (1997)

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• MOS 6502 poster
• See also: MthreeL (etsy store)

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • Screenies monitor frame
  • Q3 Monitor Mobile
  • 1965 Shazam System Reference Manual
• Earl:
  • Osborne 1
• Paul:
  • MicroProfessor II
  • Cray catalog
  • Novation modems
  • ELF II
  • ELF II (continued)
  • See also: ELF II
  • ZX microdrive
  • See also: ZX Microdrive (Wikipedia)

Closing notes:

• Dotti

A2Stream file:

• a2stream file for this episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr256.a2stream

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
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Blake Patterson

Topic: The One With All The Ones

The Retrocomputing Roundtable has reached the end of its 8-bit run.

Topic/Feedback links:

• Byte
• 8-bit computing
• Nibble
• Big boxes history video
• Traveler (Wikipedia)
• Traveler (Imperial Encyclopedia)
• Traveler (Mongoose Publishing)
• Mayday 2022
• Manhunt
• Wonderful Things (story about Manhunt)
• Open Apple 41 (November 2014). Seek to 2:03.
• Identify II v2.01

Retro Computing News:

• Tweeting from the Teletype, April 2020
• Tweeted from the Teletype
• FASTRAND (Powerhouse Collecttion)
• FASTRAND (Univac memories)
• FASTRAND (Computer History Archives Project)
• FASTRAND (Wikipedia)
• Kenbak-1 Emulator
• HP9830a Repair
• The Apple Boogie

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials etc.:

• Elephant Memory Systems mini micro floppy disk (Italian)
• Laser Computer (Katja Schuurman, Dutch)

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• 8 bit game cartridge cutting board

Auction Picks:

• Blake:
  • Laser 386SX/3
  • Y2K Bug
• Earl:
  • Altair 8800
  • Ventana World Wide Web Kit
  • See also: Ventana (PC Magazine review)
• Paul:
  • Elephant mug
  • Intel inside
  • MPF-1P
  • MPF-Ib
  • See also: MPF-I (Wikipedia)
  • See also: Flite interview (Elektor)
  • Tomy Tutor
  • ZX-80
  • HHC set

A2Stream file:

• a2stream file for this episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr255.a2stream

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

Topic: Fortran, for better or for worse

The year 1954 brought us Fortran (not named after the year though) to help us with our math, and development of SAGE to scan the skies for threats.

Topic/Feedback links:

• IBM 650
• Drum memory
• Wurlizter SideMan (not 1954, but related via tangent)
• SAGE (Gizmodo)
• SAGE (Wikipedia)
• Fortran
• Fortran 2018, 202x

Retro Computing News:

• system7.app
• macos8.app
• Tech details for system7.app, macos8.app
• Return to Monkey Island
• ACM opens first-50-years backfile
• Game of pong in a single sprite
• Sprite pong video
• SWTPC 6800 rescue
• SWTPC 6800 fan site
• ADB makes fun of the IIGS manual
• University of Saskatchewan self guided computer history tour
• A2stream, audio server
• A2stream demo
• AppleWin with Uthernet II
• a2stream file for this very episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr254.a2stream

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials etc.:

• IBM SAGE (1960)

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Atari sneakers
• See also: Atari NFT sneakers

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • Apple Credit salesperson’s kit
  • Apple branded radio lunchbag
• Earl:
  • MMD-1 8080A Trainer
  • See also: MMD-1 (Oldcomputermuseum)
• Paul:
  • Funniest CD of the century
  • The drive of a new generation
  • USB evangelism mouse
  • Companion diskette
  • Astra 1620 dual drive for Atari
  • VM 4209

A2Stream file:

• a2stream file for this episode: http://yesterbits.com/media/a2s/rcr254.a2stream

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

Topic: Prebricked drives

Episode 253 relates to 1953. Core memory begins its long dominance of the RAM space, the IBM 701 is introduced. A year that was kind of between things, so as one might expect the conversation keeps sliding into a discussion of beverages.

Topic/Feedback links:

• Magnetic core memory
• Advent of Computing, episode 77
• The Thinking Machine (1961)
• IBM 701
• Williams tube
• Jeffries tube
• Exploring the Amiga series, assembly language programming
• Brief tour of the PDP-11
• Top 20 C64 games from 2011-2021
• Commodore 64 turns 40

Retro Computing News:

• SystemSix desk calendar
• SWTPC 6800 rescued (Adrian’s Digital Basement)
• Jobs for the boys?
• The ultimate multics project
• A quarter century of Unix. Peter Sallas. 1994 Addison-Wesley
• The evolution of the Unix time sharing system
• Compatible time sharing system
• Incompatible time sharing system
• Easter Egg found in Windows 1.0.
• Mariupol Computer Museum in Ukraine
• Club it8bit
• A Brick for Some Bytes: My First Hard Drive (Byte Cellar)
• One of the Biggest Frauds in Tech History – The Miniscribe Brick Fiasco (Tech Time Traveler)

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials etc.:

• Tab

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• The Art of Point and Click Adventure Games

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • MCM/70
  • About the MCM/70
• Earl:
  • IBM Core Memory
  • See also: Core memory shield for Arduino
• Michael:
  • RCA Selectron 256bit
  • See also: Selectron tube
• Paul:
  • QuickLetter
  • Murder Party
  • CA Simply Tax 1993
  • eMate pin

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
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston

Topic: UNIVAC liked Ike

Episode 252 relates to 1952. The year when UNIVAC correctly called the election early and nobody believed it. The year the paper introducing the Huffman code compression algorithm was published. And the 50th anniversary of all the things that happened in 1902.

Topic/Feedback links:

• UNIVAC predicts the 1952 election
• CBS news election coverage, 1952
• A method for the constructions of minimum-redundancy codes (Sep 1952, Proceedings of the I.R.E.)
• The Huffman algorithm, and family
• Stuffit end of life announcement
• Mac Folklore Radio, Raymond Lau (Stuffit) interviews
• RetroMagazine World, issue 13 (EN)
• David Ahl’s magazine auctions, some signed
• The Capacitor Plague
• The Lost Sectors, playthrough of Deathlord

Retro Computing News:

• Monmouth College typewriter class
• TubeTime’s QuadLink repair and reverse engineering project
• Apple patenting the home computer?
• The Amiga Show
• Apple II video to HDMI using Raspberry Pi Zero/Pico
• Teardown of a Minitel terminal

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials etc.:

• Remington Quiet-riter

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• The Colouring Book of Retro Computers
• Highlighters for reproducing yellowing

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • Computer Bug
  • 1990s Tech Stock Bubble in a can
• Paul:
  • Woz near Steve Jobs
  • Tim Cook near Steve Jobs
  • Steve Jobs Rare
  • Just Stuffit World Tour shirt
  • AutoDoubler
  • PKZIP 2.70
  • Multiputer

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
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Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Charles Mangin, and Carrington Vanston

Topic: Memories of Whirlwind I

It’s been 71 years since 1951. So, we talk about some things kind of loosely related to 1951, including computer music, the Whirlwind I, and memory technology.

Topic/Feedback links:

• Whirlwind I
• Jim Butterfield C64 training tape
• David Ahl’s BASIC Computer Games, ANIMAL
• 3D construction kit (Spectrum, Sam Coupé)

Retro Computing News:

• BASIC Computer Games book programs updated to modern languages
• Laurie Spiegel, Music Mouse
• See also: AlphaSyntauri
• Million Perfect Letters
• Hello World collection
• The Hobbit (IF50)
• The Hobbit (Digital Antiquarian)
• The Hobbit (Internet Archive)
• The Hobbit (eBay)
• The Hobbit (eBay)
• Deathlord Relorded
• Deathlord Relorded (GitHub)

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials etc.:

• Pac-Man cereal
• Whirlwind interview
• Corncob

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• Floppy disk coasters
• And storage box

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • Remington Rand UNIVAC sales brochure
  • Codewriter for Apple II
  • See also: Codewriter in COMPUTE’s Gazette, Sept 1985
• Charles:
  • Pac-man rug
  • Pac-Man lunchbox
  • Pac-Teacher pin
  • See also: Museum Character Hall of Fame induction for Pac-Man
• Paul:
  • MEK6800D2
  • See also: MEK6800D2 (Wikipedia)
  • See also: photos of unbuilt MEK6800D2 kit
  • See also: Apple-1 motherboard
  • See also: 6800 running on an Apple-1
  • See also: 74154
  • Tractor feed option kit
  • See also: Hardware Wars
  • Computer Shopper July 1988
  • See also: Computer Shopper on Internet Archive
  • See also: Computer Shopper debut
  • Gigabyte me
  • Softsel product encyclopedia 1985
  • See also: Everything project spreadsheet
  • Commodore 64 reset switch

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

Topic: Computing Machinery and Intelligence

It’s been 72 years since the year Turing published the paper that outlined the Turing test. So: Let’s talk about interactions we’ve had relating to artificial intelligence in some form or another.

Topic/Feedback links:

• RetroMagazine issue 12, English version
• Total Replay booting from the DigitalOcean cloud on an Apple II with FujiNet
• Commodore Computer Museum Kickstarter (NZ)
• Aroma Disc
• Sounds and Scents of the Holiday season
• Aroma Disc player, unopened
• Aroma Disc player, unpacked

Retro Computing News:

• How The US Census Led to the First Data Processing Company
• Leonard Tramiel recalls Bill Gates at a trade show
• See also: WAIT 6502, 10 and other easter eggs
• Nostalgic Computing Center
• JavaScript version of Prince of Persia runs on Apple Watch
• PrinceJS
• Junk in the PC DOS 1.1 boot sector (Michal Necasek)
• Junk in the PC DOS 1.1 boot sector (The Starman)

Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:

• Atari 65xe
• Aroma Disc
• DEC laptop

Retro Computing Gift Idea:

• MeowToast 1/2AA battery replacements

Auction Picks:

• Carrington:
  • 1988 West Coast Computer Faire program
  • Make friends with: West Coast Computer Faire button
• Earl:
  • Digital Rainbow PC100-B2
• Paul:
  • Versawriter
  • A-1 with or without Bernie’s mods
  • See also: UncleBernie on applefritter
  • QX-10/16 SemiDisk RAM card with battery backup
  • QX-10/16 ComFiler hard drive
  • QX-10/16 hard drive card PCB to build
  • What you call your game when all the good game names are already taken
  • See also: Metal band name generator
  • Roguelike to perhaps the greatest degree
  • Atari 65xe painted black, with two AtariMax cartridges (originally listed at $250)

Closing discussion links:

• Like a DOS podcast
• Meat stylus
• DOS Nostalgia Podcast

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
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