ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

By Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad ArnoldNews Technology Tech News

ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast episodes

October 24 ANTIC Interview 467 - Stephen Jones, Interim Computer Museum
Stephen Jones, Interim Computer Museum Stephen Jones describes himself as the "caretaker" of Interim Computer Museum, a computer museum in Tukwila, Washington, a few miles south of Seattle. Stephen has decades of involvement with sdf.org, the public-access UNIX system that's been around since 1987; he was senior engineering manager at the Living Computer Museum, Paul Allen's Seattle computer museum that shuttered in 2020. In this interview, Stephen provides a brief history of SDF.org, the rise and fall of the Living Computer Museum, and the birth of the Interim Computer Museum. He explains what happened to the holdings of Living Computer Museum, and some of the interesting items at Interim Computer Museum. This interview took place on May 3, 2026 at Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest in Washington State.
SDF.org

Interim Computer Museum

Allen Family Philanthropies

Mimms Museum of Technology and Art

Living Computer Museums + Labs site (archived)

Christie's sale of the The Paul G. Allen Collection

2018 Interview - Cynde Moya, Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs

Idea Man by Paul Allen

Source Code by Bill Gates
54 min
October 15ANTIC Episode 131 - Brad's 30K Brain
ANTIC Episode 131 - Brad's 30K Brain

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we discuss the newly announced THE ATARI800XL and give our opinions, we talk about Hamster power, and Brad now has only 30K for his brain, plus a whole lot more!

READY!

Recurring Links

Floppy Days Podcast

AtariArchives.org

AtariMagazines.com

Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd"

New Atari books scans at archive.org

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge

Interview index: here

ANTIC Facebook Page

AHCS

Eaten By a Grue

Next Without For

What we've been up to

FujiGrid - https://www.savetz.com/fujigrid/

Newsbytes - https://www.savetz.com/newsbytes

Updated AtariMagazines.com, AtariArchives.org, FlightSimBooks.com

VCF Midwest - https://www.vcfmw.org

Jeri Ellsworth - 1027 printer ribbon - https://www.jeriellsworth.com/

Atari BBS - https://www.southernamis.com/

Thom and Fujinet team - https://fujinet.online/

Jason Moore - https://atariprojects.org/

TACO/John Hardie - https://www.facebook.com/groups/29814905254/user/1615493844/

John Zielke (AtariBasics/Atari Insights) - https://ataribasics.com/

SpartaDOS X User Guide - https://retronics.eu/?a=item&id=360&l=en

Peter Jennings, Microchess interview on Floppy Days - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-167-interview-with-peter-jennings-microchess-and-visicorp

Mean Hamster Power Engine for XL/XE has arrived! - ziggystar - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393445-mean-hamster-power-engine-for-xlxe-has-arrived/

TeensyROM and NFC for C64 - https://github.com/SensoriumEmbedded/TeensyROM

Recent Interview Shows

ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-463-steve-bryson-game-programmer

ANTIC Interview 464 - Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-464-walt-klappert-atari-advanced-development-group

ANTIC Interview 465 - Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal) - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-465-vince-wu-the-learning-phone-atari-plato-terminal

ANTIC Interview 466 - John Victor, Program Design Inc. - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-466-john-victor-program-design-inc

New & Updated Hardware

THE ATARI800XL:

https://atari.com/pages/800xl

https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/the-atari-800xl-returns-with-a-faithful-but-modern-retro-games-ltd-redesign-classic-8-bit-home-computer-revamp-sports-mechanical-keyboard-and-hdmi-connectivity

Antonia2 run - Simius - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/382122-antonia2-interest/page/8/#comment-5884400

New shine-through XE key caps sets - GROUP BUY PRE-ORDER - screamingattheradio - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393071-new-shine-through-xe-key-caps-sets-group-buy-pre-order/

An Atari 130XE rebuilt as a laptop - Tavis Hord, Sideburn Studios:

https://sideburn.com/lab/xebook/

Full specifications, configuration options and reservations are at xebook.sideburn.com

New & Updated Games

King's Quest and other Sierra adventures for Atari 800 Released! - ziggystar:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393029-kings-quest-for-atari-800-released/

Download and supported games - meanhamster.com/games/agi-64

AGI-ANTIC game demos on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF0OkYGMhHA

Doom for the A8PicoCart - ziggystar (John Swiderski, President, Mean Hamster Software Inc.) - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393244-doom-for-a8pico-cart/

Elite For The Atari 8-Bit -- FireBird Version Has Been Completed And Is Released! - reifsnyderb (Brian Reifsnyder) - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393094-elite-for-the-atari-8-bit-firebird-version-has-been-completed-and-is-released/

New & Updated Software

Chleba - https://github.com/viktorcech/chleba

Atarijam - https://github.com/marspa73/atarijam

BMA8 - A Bare-Metal Atari 8-bit Emulator for Raspberry Pi:

https://www.reddit.com/r/atari8bit/s/osKWnaXj57

github.com/serkantanriverdi/bma8

Publications

ABBUC Magazine - https://www.abbuc.de

Atari Insights - AtariBasics.com

GOTO10 substack: https://www.goto10retro.com/p/apx-forth-a-surprise

Contests

6th ATASCII Compo (2026):

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/393223-6th-atascii-compo-2026/

As always you can check https://logiker.com/ATASCII for details

Upcoming Shows

2026:

VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/

2027:

Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-21 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/

VCF East - April 2-4 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/

Midwest Gaming Classic - April 23-25 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/

VCF Southwest - June 25-27 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/

VCF SE July 16-18 - Atlanta - https://gameatl.com/

Event page on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub

YouTube Videos

The Story Of: 5 More Unreleased 8-bit Atari Computers - Laird's Lair - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USZco04YXcw

ATARI's 800XL Is BACK—with a Working Cartridge Slot! - GenXGrownup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEAWFPvMfyI

Sierra Classics On The C64 & Atari - This Week In Retro 288 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5tsmDt7kvY

Top 25 Atari 8bit Games not on the C64 - Into the Vertical Blank - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVs14K7qKZ8

New at Archive.org

https://archive.org/details/space-atari - 494 issues of St. Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts newsletter! (thanks @Phlod on discord)

https://archive.org/details/198501-computer-shopper-x-1oc/

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-february-1989/

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-september-1986/

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-october-1988/

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-november-1987

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-march-1987

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-may-1986/

New at Github

On the 8-Bit:

https://github.com/N4t0-tech/Atari-Juego-Kaiju-SUPPA-ROBOTTO

https://github.com/peterkaczorowski/ORCA-Atari-Snippets

https://github.com/grzes71/atari-music-composer

https://github-com.translate.goog/grzes71/atari-music-composer?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

https://github.com/slaapliedje/gem4xe

https://github.com/grzes71/jabberwocky

Atari stuff moved to web?:

https://github.com/MarcinZukowski/a8ext

https://github.com/jcoffey-dev/lemonade

https://github.com/Quaerendir/Heartlight

https://github.com/Quaerendir/TheJet

https://github.com/Quaerendir/FAC

https://github.com/prcoder-1/ATARI-WorldKarateChampionship-SDL-port

https://github.com/Setech-pl/setech-arcade

FloppoScope - https://github.com/0ldStaph/FloppoScope

Feedback

https://estore.wacom.com/en-us/wacom-cintiq-24-touch-dth246k0a.html
1 hr 56 min
October 10 ANTIC Interview 466 - John Victor, Program Design Inc.
John Victor, Program Design Inc. John Victor was founder and president of Program Design Inc., one of the earliest publishers of educational software. Based in Greenwich CT, PDI created dozens of educational software titles and a few not-so-educational games for Atari 8-bit, Commodore PET and 64, TRS-80, Apple II, and Texas Instruments computers. Software marketed by PDI included Moonbase IO, Sammy the Sea Serpent, and Preparing for the SAT (which was probably the first SAT prep software for any home computer). PDI also created "An Invitation to Programming", the casette-based BASIC programming primer sold by Atari. That may have been the first "how to program" tutorial for a home computer. Here's what ANALOG Computing's September 1981 issue had to say — Program Design, Inc., better known as PDI, has been involved in supporting the Atari computers since even before its release. Most Atari computer owners know of this company through the Invitation to Programming series, which was conceived and executed entirely by PDI. Located in southern Connecticut, PDI has been actively producing educational software for several small computer systems, concentrating on the Atari in particular. The majority of PDI's offerings are oriented towards children, with the age bracket ranging from 3 years old to high school level. All of the programs are on cassette format only, frequently taking advantage of the voice track capability. One of the newer programs, "Sammy the Sea Serpent", is an interactive storybook type game where the child participates in the story. While graphics are displayed on the screen, a voice (a female actress' voice was used in this case) narrates the story calling upon the child to use a joystick from time to time to move 'Sammy' about the screen. ... Other tapes drill students on vocabulary and number problems, with some aimed at preparing high school students for the SAT tests. For adults, Astro-Quotes and Mini-Crossword Puzzle can be an interesting challenge (Astro-Quotes, our particular favorite)... Other titles published by PDI included Bowling, Captivity, various word search programs, Code Breaker, Let's Spell, Cash Register, Preschool IQ Builder, Reading Comprehension — the list goes on. This interview took place on October 4, 2026.
Video version of this interview

1984 Antic magazine profile of John Victor

ANALOG Computing "In the Spotlight"

PDI programs at AtariMania

Programs co-credited to John

An Invitation to Programming

Moonbase IO game audio
41 min
September 30 ANTIC Interview 465 - Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal)
Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal) Vince Wu worked at Atari for about two and a half years. He was the programmer of The Learning Phone, the PLATO terminal for Atari 8-bit computers. Before that, he worked with PLATO at the University of Illinois, then in California for Control Data Corporation. PLATO was the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system, a groundbreaking graphical client-server computer system aimed at education. To assist in this interview, I was joined by Thomas Cherryhomes and Michael Sternberg, who were on a road trip to a Vintage Computer Festival conference. In 2018, Tom Cherryhomes created IRATA.ONLINE, a modern working version of the PLATO server and terminals. Michael Sternberg helped reverse engineer the Atari PLATO cartridge for that project. This interview took place on September 10, 2026.
Video version of this interview

1984 "PLATO Rising" article in Antic magazine

The Learning Phone review in ANALOG Computing magazine

The Friendly Orange Glow: The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture

Computer History Museum PLATO@50: PLATO Computer Learning System 50th Anniversary

IRATA.ONLINE, a modern PLATO server and terminals

ATARI PLATO Users Guide version 3.1 (1983)

ANTIC Episode 49 – Thomas Cherryhomes and PLATO

ANTIC Interview 10 – Mark Rustad

ANTIC Interview 117 – Landon Dyer

ANTIC Interview 183 – Lane Winner

Early versions of Atari PLATO released

PLATO on Wikipedia

Vince Wu – Follow the Arc of Justice

Vincent Wu's birthday memories—jailed at Selma in 1965, worked security for MLK at the March finale
1 hr 20 min
September 13 ANTIC Interview 464 - Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group
Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs Walt Klappert worked at Atari's Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs in New York, and later at Take One Enterprises in California. He worked with Nancy and Steve Mayer on a variety of projects with a concentration on creating software for girls. He is credited as Director of "Fisher Price Dance Fantasy", a dance choreography game for small children. He also worked on a system for authoring CD+G, an enhancement to the compact disc spec that allowed graphics and lyrics to be displayed synchronized with music. This interview took place on August 14, 2026. Video version of this interview Walt's YouTube page Dance Fantasy at AtariMania ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer
1 hr 26 min
September 10ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode
ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We trip all over our own tongues trying to bring you all the news fit to print in the Atari 8-bit computer world…

READY!

Recurring Links

Floppy Days Podcast

AtariArchives.org

AtariMagazines.com

Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd"

New Atari books scans at archive.org

ANTIC feedback at AtariAge

Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge

Interview index: here

ANTIC Facebook Page

AHCS

Eaten By a Grue

Next Without For

What we've been up to

Diskmenu manual - archive.org/details/apx-diskmenu-manual

30th anniversary of Classic Computer Magazine Archive - AtariMagazines.com:

Discussion - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391744-30th-anniversary-of-classic-computer-magazine-archive/

Atari Yahoo Groups archives:

https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=atari+yahoo+group

https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=identifier%3Ayahoo-group*&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22texts%22

Atari Usenet group archive additions - https://archive.org/details/ANTIC_podcast_extras?tab=collection&query=usenet

MPP MicroportXL board manual - https://archive.org/details/Supra_Microport-XL_for_Atari_manual

New Atari Legacy magazine - https://atarilegacy.com/

Recent Interview Shows

Interview index: here

https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-459-mike-lorenzen-atari-program-text-editor-pitfall-ii

https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-460-tim-jenkins-cheating-at-roulette

ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System

ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392145-bob-fraser-disk-trove/

New & Updated Games

AstroSmasher!, Atari 8-bit computer game made with AI inspired by Intellivision's classic title Astrosmash! - by gimmee99 - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391594-saturday-fun-astrosmasher/

Texas Hold 'Em - MultiPlayer Game by MassiveRobot - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391615-texas-hold-em-multiplayer-game/

FujiRealm Playable Demo MORPG Released for FujiNet by mozzwald - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391580-fujirealm-playable-demo-morpg-released-for-fujinet/

New & Updated Software

FujiLink — A FujiNet Driver for SpartaDOS X 4.50 by Piotr D. Kaczorowski - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391472-fujilink-%E2%80%94-a-fujinet-driver-for-spartados-x-450/

Kat5200 emulator - https://t.co/HH0p6DtNaO

Mailbox protocol adapter with GMAIL and IMAPS support by Thom Cherryhomes - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391551-mailbox-protocol-adapter-with-gmail-and-imaps-support/

FujiGPT - an LLM client for Atari FujiNet by HanJammer:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391346-fujigpt-an-llm-client-for-atari-fujinet/

https://github.com/HanJammer/FujiGPT

ATRaction – ATR/XFD image manager - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392013-atraction-%E2%80%93-atrxfd-image-manager/

d/BASIC for d/OS - Raj S Madugula - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392300-intro-to-king-dos-atari-130xe-a8picocart-and-me-60fps/

Publications

Atari Insights - https://www.ataribasics.com

Compute's Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com

End of the rainbow https://amzn.to/3RZSV6z

Atari Projects:

https://atariprojects.org/2026/06/28/benchmark-your-atari-8-bit-computers-using-basic-15-30-mins/

https://atariprojects.org/2026/07/04/learn-about-scanlines-using-peek-in-atari-basic-5-10-mins/

https://blog.archive.org/2026/08/27/a-computer-history-time-capsule/

New & Updated Hardware

JUST_POKEY from Lotharek:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391270-just_pokey-from-lotharek/

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=431

The Company That Calls Itself Atari

https://kotaku.com/atari-and-universal-sign-movie-deal-for-10-video-game-adaptations-including-pong-asteroids-and-missile-command-2000719087

Other

Jeffrey Stanton died

https://smmirror.com/jeffrey-stanton-leading-venice-beach-historian-who-authored-coney-island-of-the-pacific-passes-away-at-79/

https://www.atariarchives.org/agagd/

Tom Hudson - https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/thomas-hudson-obituary?id=54708986

FujiNet NOS Introduction Video (YouTube) by Thom Cherryhomes:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391452-fujinet-nos-introduction-video-youtube/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-1PJEkK2ck

FujiNet NOS Introduction PDF - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391386-fujinet-nos-introduction-pdf/

FujiNet Programmer's Guide PDF - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391365-fujinet-programmers-guide-pdf/

If you would like to receive regular FujiNet updates, please consider subscribing to fujinews.substack.com

All user manuals are available on this page: fujinet.online/getting-started. For your convenience, here are direct links to each manual here:

FujiNet for Atari Owner's Guide

FujiNet NOS (for Atari) (Introduction to the FujiNet Network Operating System)

FujiNet for Apple II Getting Started Guide

FujiNet for Coleco ADAM Set-Up Manual

FujiNet for Tandy Color Computer Getting Started Manual

FujiNet for RS232 on MS-DOS Guide to Operations

Brewing Academy back in business:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390695-all-brewing-academy-inventory-is-being-sold-please-read-for-details/

Soft launched with a lot of the easier products – TheBrewingacademy.com is up and running!

Atarimania update:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392305-new-atarimania

We are happy to announce the launch of the new version of Atarimania!

https://atariprojects.org/2026/08/23/explore-the-new-atarimania-website-10-15-mins/

Upcoming Shows

Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 - Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/

Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/

VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/

YouTube Videos

Messy Atari 800XL comes in for a refit - FlashJazzCat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPfGf8xbkBg

Level demo by Agenda (Atari 8-bit computers) - Philsan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4rid6qTsGw

The Atari Console You've Probably Never Seen - RETRO is the new black (Wolfgang Kierdorf) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYwQssg6eQ

AUTCODE Invaders👾 A Space Invaders-inspired shooter for Atari 8-bit - atariteca - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXHkXRLyXMg

New at Archive.org

https://archive.org/details/mag-the-australian-atari-gazette-91-03

https://archive.org/details/xio-3-garden-city-atari-computer-enthusiasts-newsletter-march-april-1996

https://archive.org/details/Computer-Shopper-February-1985

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-march-1985-images

https://archive.org/details/Computer-Shopper-April-1985/

https://archive.org/details/Computer-Shopper-July-1985/

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-july-1986-images

https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-august-1986

https://archive.org/details/gcp-lordsofspace_202608/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/gcp-cyberworld/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/gcp-biowar/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/atari-8-bit-program-listing/

New at Github

https://github.com/HanJammer/FujiATC

https://github.com/grzes71/atari-font-maker

https://github.com/jhonnaker1/8x8-Trek

https://github.com/JeremyJStarcher/yahtzee-a8

https://github.com/grzes71/dziki-zgon

https://github.com/tebe6502/GIF-Viewer-VBXE

https://github.com/slaapliedje/ur

https://github.com/sarnau/Atari-Jumpman

https://github.com/grzes71/py-image-converter

https://github.com/vincentlauriat/SpaceInvaders

https://github.com/grzegorzzyla/NG-atariATR

https://github.com/pdavis68/AtariHacker

https://github.com/brad-colbert/atari-xex-memory-analyzer

https://github.com/dillera/8bitlife

https://github.com/HanJammer/FujiGPT

https://github.com/supurloop/farmsquad

Feedback

https://www.orphanedgames.com/

three articles can all be read here:

The Legend of Pitfall Harry From the VCS to the PC

Pitfall Update: Pitfall III

Pitfall Update: The End of the Secret Level!

What the original newsletter looked like in 1998 - OC&GS, Vol. II, #4 (June 1998)
1 hr 38 min
August 30 ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer
Steve Bryson, game programmer Steve Bryson was a programmer for EPYX and The Connelley Group, where he ported many games to various 8-bit systems. He ported Dragonriders of Pern, an action/strategy game based on the Anne McCaffrey novels, to Atari and Commodore 64. He ported Jumpman to the Apple II, and Lower Reaches of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Temple of Ra to the C64. This interview took place on August 5, 2026. Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/SdK56W9bd6Y Steve's personal web site: https://www.stevepur.com Randy Glover, Jumpman interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i171/i171-transcript.html Tom Zimmerman, AMY chip interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i431/i431-transcript.html Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i070/i070-transcript.html Dragonriders of Pern at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/a8b_Dragonriders_of_Pern_The_1983_Epyx_US Dragonriders of Pern at AtariMania: https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-dragonriders-of-pern_1723.html
50 min
August 15 ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari
Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari Bob Fraser worked at Atari for four years: he worked on the early CX70 light pen, helped write the specs for an unreleased database manager for the Atari 8-bits. and later moved into Atari's Games Design Research Group under Alan Kay, where he experimented with 3-D graphics. He wrote a chapter of De Re Atari — chapter 7, all about sound — and two applications that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Supersort, a data sorting routine; and Insomnia, a sound editor. Supersort was APX catalog number 20030, and was for sale starting with the first APX catalog, summer 1981. Insomnia was catalog number 20073 and was available about six months later in the winter 1981 catalog. The CX70 light pen: it's rare — according to AtariWiki, it was only offered by Atari for a few months in 1981. After our interview, Bob sent me his: prototype #2. He also sent me a lot of floppy disks (around 70) which I was able to get the data off of. They include many of his 3-D rendering demonstrations, source code for an early version of the Ballsong demo, several early versions of Mike Lorenzen's MEDIT text editor, light pen software, internal development tools, and more. I've put them all online, have fun digging through them. This interview took place on June 10, 2026. Video version of this interview Download Bob's disks, and conversation about them Supersort in the summer 1981 APX catalog Supersort at Atarimania Insomnia in the winter 1981 APX catalog Insomnia at Atarimania De Re Atari CX70 Light Pen at AtariWiki CX70 discussion at AtariAge Invest like a Billionaire by Bob Fraser Dale Yocum interview Chris Crawford interview Douglas Crockford interview
26 min
August 02 ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System
James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System James W. Burley is the programmer of Data Base/Report System, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange beginning with the Summer 1982 APX catalog. It was catalog number 20134 with a price of $22.95. APX sold it for about a year, through the Summer 1983 catalog. APX awarded Data Base/Report System first prize for new software in the "Business & Professional Applications/Personal Finance & Record Keeping" category: for that, James was awarded an Atari Star plaque and $2000 prize. (He received the plaque, but says he never received the money.) The software may have also been sold by Main Street Publishing. Here's what the APX catalog had to say: Data Base/Report System by James W. Burley Recommended for experienced data base users/Written in BASIC and machine language If you've ever used a data base manager on a large computer system, you'll appreciate the many features of DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM. This general-purpose system for ATARI 800 Home Computers creates and maintains records having up to ten units of information ("fields"), with a maximum field length of 100 characters and a maximum record length of 255 characters. The total number of records you can store varies with record key size, a key being the unique identifier for each record) and available computer memory. Generally, you can store about 1300 records having a five-character key on a system with 40K of memory. You use the main program to create a new file; add, update, and remove records; sort the file; and print reports. Auxiliary programs reorganize the data files to free unused diskette space; redefine the file by adding fields, modifying field sizes, or changing field headings; delete old files; and print special reports. ... These and other features make DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM a really versatile data base management system for your ATARI 800 Home Computer. REVIEW COMMENTS: You need some data base knowledge to use the program; it's a bit complex, but all the features are worthwhile. The print formatting and file reorganization features are very useful. The sort and search routines, written in assembly language, work quickly. In 1983, Antic magazine featured the program as one of the "Ten Best from APX". In 2024, Wade at the Inverse ATASCII podcast did a deep dive into Data Base/Report System: check the show notes for the link to that review, which includes dozens of screenshots, sample print output, and information about the database's file format. Wade gave the software a rating of 5 out of 8. As of this recording, the Atari community doesn't yet have a scan of the APX manual for Data Base/Report System: if you have a copy, let me know, or scan it and upload it to Internet Archive. The Main Street Publishing version — both disk and manual — are also not preserved. This interview took place on May 22, 2026. Data Base/Report System at AtariMania Data Base/Report System in the APX Summer 1982 APX catalog Antic Magazine - February 1983 - Ten Best from APX Inverse ATASCII reviews Data Base/Report System
26 min
July 19 ANTIC Interview 460 - Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette
Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette with an Atari Computer Tim Jenkins is the author of several humorous memoirs: "Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way", "More Missions Accomplished: And a lot more funny business", and "Business Missions Accomplished: Silly travel tales on the corporate dime". I wanted to talk to Tim about one chapter in his 2018 book More Missions Accomplished: the chapter is titled "Gaming the System" and it tells the tale of him trying to cheat a roulette using his Atari 800 computer. A brief excerpt from that chapter: "Las Vegas — 1989. Shortly after the dawn of the personal computer revolution, opportunity beckoned. Some people wrote software and sold it over retail counters. Others launched services that harnessed the databasing and processing power of the PC to help people find a job, a date, or other people with the same interests. I put my own Atari 800 computer to work simulating roulette. ... If you kept increasing your bet every time you lost a spin of the wheel, eventually your number would come up: The question was, would you earn back all the money you'd previously lost and make a profit? Yes. That is, you would if you did not first run into the table limit. ... How to get there without hitting the max bet? That's what I set out to simulate on my Atari computer. ... The program showed this to be a winning strategy, if perfectly executed." This interview took place on May 22, 2025. More Missions Accomplished at amazon: https://amzn.to/446MrVP At Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moremissionsacco0000timj/page/138/mode/2up Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/EW-pDXlBDQg
29 min