Stanley Trost, Electronic Arts Financial Cookbook    Stanley R. Trost wrote several books about early microcomputers, including Atari BASIC Programs in Minutes, Doing Business with VisiCalc, Multiplan on the Commodore 64, Useful Basic Programs the for IBM PC, VisiCalc for Science and Engineering, and others. He was also the creator of Financial Cookbook, which was published by Electronic Arts in 1984 (and one of only two "home management" titles released by EA, the other being Cut and Paste, "the Remarkably Simple Word Processor").   Financial Cookbook provided 32 financial calculators and decision-making tools, including understanding your marginal tax rate, living on your savings, how much life insurance you need, variable rate mortgages, and so on. Versions of the program were sold for Atari 8-bit and ST, Apple II, Commodore 64, Macintosh, and perhaps other platforms.   This interview took place on March 24, 2025.   Atari BASIC Programs in Minutes    Doing Business with VisiCalc    Financial Cookbook at AtariMania    Inverse ATASCII podcast about Financial Cookbook, including many screenshots    Video version of this interview    Support Kay's interviews on Patreon

Bill and David Lappen, Buy-Phone   It's a dangerous game in the computer history field to call anything the "first." But Buy-Phone is a very strong contender call itself the first online yellow pages. Years before before Yahoo!, before Craigslist, Buy-Phone was a text-based dial-up service — available at 300 and 1200 bits per second — that provided business listings, movie times, and personal ads, all for free to callers. The service launched in late 1982 and was limited to the West Los Angeles area. Buy-Phone was the brainchild of brothers Bill and David Lappen.   Here's what the August 1984 issue of IEEE Computer wrote:    "Buy-Phone's "electronic yellow pages" service for Los Angeles is answering over 3000 consumer requests per day, on any thing trom movies to restaurants to auto repair - and the best part? It's all free. The philosophy was to provide sponsored information paid for by the advertiser, not the consumer. The computer organizes over 10,000 listings to respond exactly to the caller's request. According to the company, the system had to be easy for computer novices to operate, yet powerful enough to be of value. Four proficiency levels are used, each introducing additional features. Beginning users see only six different categories of listings (restaurants arranged by price or nationality, movie schedules, plays...). As users advance, they see an expanded list and are shown how to formulate a search. Retrieved listings are arranged by their distance from the user, with the closest shown first. Expert users are able to specify the time and day they want to buy an item and get information only about stores that are open then. Buy-Phone is now testing expansion to determine how difficult it will be to create similar systems in other cities. To discover Buy-Phone's service call (213) 474-0270 (300 baud), (213) 470-4679 (1200 baud). Access assistance is available at (213) 474-2220."   I interviewed Buy-Phone founders Bill and David Lappen on March 14, 2025.   Video version of this interview   Buy-Phone advertisements, clippings, and ephemera   Buy-Phone Computer Consulting web site   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon

ANTIC Episode 115

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we talk lots of contest news, Mr. Paint, a DIY Atari-themed monitor, and lots of other Atari 8-bit news.  Plus, we find a book on “exhausting” Atari games!

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 

Links for Items Mentioned in Show:

What we’ve been up to

• Scanned stuff from Timothy Onders

• https://archive.org/details/stx_Atari_400_800_Personal_Computer_System_Operating_System_Listing_1981-02_CO16579

• https://archive.org/details/stx_Atari_400_800_Personal_Computer_System_Hardware_Manual_CO16555_1980-10

• https://archive.org/details/APX_Isopleth_Map-Making_Package_manual_APX-20103_1982-06

• Pilot book - “Atari 400/800 Student Pilot Reference Guide” by Atari - https://archive.org/details/atari_pilot-student-guide 

• Scanned JACG (Jersey Atari Computer Group) newsletters:

• October, 1985 - https://archive.org/details/jacg-newsletter-1985-october-vol-5-no-2 

• November, 1985 - https://archive.org/details/jacg-newsletter-1985-november-vol-5-no-3 

• Atari newsletters at Internet Archive - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RkznDDlOL2O_K-RrbkajIuo6DvYof6Ajrn7j9NTcoDM/edit?usp=sharing 

Recent Interviews

• ANTIC Interview 453 - Giann Velasquez, Atariteca - https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-453-giann-velasquez-atariteca 

• ANTIC Interview 452 - Dean Garraghty, DGS Software 

• ANTIC Interview 454 - Steve Kranish, Parker Brothers Frogger 

News

• Mr. Paint by Wade Ripkowski:

• https://github.com/Ripjetski6502/MrPaint 

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/379270-mr-paint/ 

• Atari ‘faux neon’ LED logo sign, $40 on pre-order - https://atari.com/products/atari-neon-led-sign-white-12-x-13 

• “errant” on git - using Atari as a keyboard for a PC. Code and instructions posted:

• https://git.sdf.org/errant/keytari 

• https://voidptr.org/ 

• Arcade Centipede emulated on Atari 800XL - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/379015-centipede-emulator-for-the-atari-800xl/ 

• FujiCup 2024 Results Announced: 

• https://fujicup.pl/ 

• results page for 2024 - https://fujicup.pl/wyniki2024 

• Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW-z9tD1OW4 

• Download all 2024 games in ZIP archive 

• Atari Homebrew Awards 2024:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b3g4Czr0BE 

• Best Atari 8-Bit/5200 Homebrew (Original) - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/379180-7th-annual-atari-homebrew-awards-atari-8-bit5200-homebrew-original/ 

• Best Atari 8-Bit/5200 Homebrew (Port) - ​​https://forums.atariage.com/topic/379181-7th-annual-atari-homebrew-awards-atari-8-bit5200-homebrew-port/ 

• Best Atari 8-Bit/5200 WIP (Original) - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/379182-7th-annual-atari-homebrew-awards-atari-8-bit5200-wip-original/ 

• Best Atari 8-Bit/5200 WIP (Port) - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/379183-7th-annual-atari-homebrew-awards-atari-8-bit5200-wip-port/ 

• 800XL gets a mention in Hackaday article - https://hackaday.com/2025/02/21/genetic-algorithm-runs-on-atari-800-xl/ 

• XCL10 Monitor - Marcin "Fokaszalot" - Baran - https://atarionline.pl/v01/index.php?ct=nowinki&ucat=1&subaction=showfull&id=1740334426 

• BASIC 10-Liner Contest - https://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/copy-of-games-list-2024 

• Via bill kendrick - https://www.timeextension.com/features/interview-it-was-a-suicide-mission-larry-siegel-reflects-on-ataris-failed-war-on-nintendo 

• Compute! Magazine ATR by Issue #4 to #95 - Rory McMahon - https://discord.com/channels/1071168010427060324/1071168010427060327/1340108131690348607 

• https://www.eurogamer.net/40-years-on-rescue-on-fractalus-remains-a-rare-reminder-of-the-magic-of-lucasfilm-games 

• Computer Dealer Demos: Selling Home Computers with Bouncing Balls and Animated Logos by Patryk Wasiak, Institute for Cultural Studies, University of Wrocław, Poland - https://www.academia.edu/10744534/Computer_Dealer_Demos_Selling_Home_Computers_with_Bouncing_Balls_and_Animated_Logos?email_work_card=title 

• Why the N tools?” By Thomas Cherryhomes: 

• https://fujinet.online/2025/02/21/atari-why-the-n-tools/ 

• Video - https://youtu.be/BUR_KRTRWk0 

• 1090XL Expansion case:

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/318373-1090xl-remake/page/41/#findComment-5620900 

• Link to STLs: https://makerworld.com/en/models/1084156 

Upcoming Shows

• Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ 

• VCF East - April 4-6, 2025 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org 

• Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ 

• VCF Europe - May 3-4 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ 

• Retrofest 2025 - May 31-June1 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/ 

• Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html 

• VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

• Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

• Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 31-Aug. 3 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2025-se  

• Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/ 

• VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/ 

• Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/ 

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

YouTube Videos

• The Atari 800 Quick Repair Guide ! - Paul Westphal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R7CpvJLERk 

• Atari Pioneers Spill: 80s Gaming's Untold Stories! - Convention Coverage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YexxqfHUeik 

• Cutting Edge, Atari XL/XE 64 bytes intro - Freddy Offenga - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcoGgFd-3Nc (From LoveByte 2025 - https://lovebyte.party/ )

• "Abundance" 128 Byte Intro Atari XL/XE - gorgh Atari - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6HmWxcGVrg 

New at Archive.org 

• https://archive.org/details/addison-wesley-adventures-voor-uw-atari-xlxe 

• https://archive.org/details/addison-wesley-afmattende-spelen-voor-uw-atari-600-xl-800-xl 

• https://archive.org/details/great-lakes-atari-digest-june-1989-vol-1-no-4 

• https://archive.org/details/great-lakes-atari-digest-october-1989-vol-1-no-8 

• https://archive.org/details/catch-on-to-computers-with-atari-logo-post-cereal 

• https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-april-1987-vol-7-num-4-atari-articles 

• https://archive.org/details/salespersons-guide-to-the-atari-400-home-computer-system/page/n1/mode/2up 

• https://archive.org/details/excalibur-magazine/ 

• https://archive.org/details/capitol-hill-atari-owners-society-software-library-disk-catalog-march-1987 

• https://archive.org/details/atari-price-list-june-1982-and-letters/mode/2up 

• https://archive.org/details/grand-rapids-atari-systems-supporters-software-library-disk-catalog-1987 

Commercial

• Atari XE Computer System Commercial (1988) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjWEE5r8Rak 

Feedback

• Chris Lorenzo - Vintage Gaming Memories (YouTube) - Atari Addict Collectors Issue Magazine 

Steve Kranish, Parker Brothers Frogger   Steve Kranish is the creator of the Atari 8-bit and Atari 5200 versions of Frogger, the versions published by Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers had the rights to publish cartridge versions of Frogger. Sierra On-Line had already published versions of Frogger on floppy disk and cassette, so Parker Brothers bought the rights to use that version as the basis for its cartridge version. But there were a few problems: for one, the 13K cassette game would need to be shrunk to fit on an 8K cartridge. Another: the source code was lost.   Steve also worked on an Atari 8-bit version of the board game Risk, and a game called Baker’s Dozen, both of which were unfinished. He also worked on Project Zelda, Parker Brothers investigation into distributing Atari VCS games via cable television.    This interview took place on March 2, 2025. In 2016, I interviewed John Harris, who programmed the Sierra Online version of Frogger (as well as Jawbreaker and Mouskattack). Check the show notes for the link to that.   Video version of this interview   2007 interview with Steve at Atari Compendium   Steve's games at AtariMania   Steve on Atariage   ANTIC Interview 200 - John Harris: Jawbreaker, Frogger, Mouskattack   Support Kay on Patreon

ANTIC Interview 453 - Giann Velasquez, Atariteca

Hello, and welcome to this interview-only episode of ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit computer podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig, your host for this episode.

Giann Velasquez is the owner and curator of the popular, Spanish-language, Atari 8-bit news site, Atariteca.  Giann is a consummate Atari 8-bit fan and lives in Lima, Peru.

This interview took place on June 30, 2024.

Links

• Atariteca - https://www.atariteca.net.pe/ 

Blog about Atari 8-bit computers. News, guides and analysis on emulators, games and programs for Atari XL/XE series computers.

 

ANTIC Episode 114 - Andy Diller Returns!

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we have special guest Andy Diller for a FujiNet update and to let us know about all the great things he’s working on…

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 

Links for Items Mentioned in Show:

What we’ve been up to

• ANTIC Interview 450 - Robert Leyland: AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, MicroIllustrator 

• Kay’s 2024 wrapped - https://www.patreon.com/posts/kays-2024-119233408 

• Lee Pappas ANALOG disks treasure hunt:

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/378256-lee-pappas-analog-disks-treasure-hunt/ 

• https://github.com/scttgs0/titan-prototype-atari8 

• S.T.A.R. newsletter - https://www.atariorbit.org/star/ 

• Rogul game:

• https://www.atariorbit.org/2025/01/16/rogul-an-interview-with-wojciech-bocianski/ 

• http://bocianu.atari.pl/ 

• YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOm0njTd4tI 

• Installing Altirra on ARM Macs - https://www.atariorbit.org/2024/12/26/altirra-arm-and-sequoia/ 

News

• TNFS GUI for OSX & Windows (nwah) - https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/tnfsd-gui?tab=readme-ov-file#tnfs-server-manager 

• FujiNet Virtual Printer Output Examples (Thom Cherryhomes) - https://fujinet.online/2025/01/22/fujinet-virtual-printer-examples/ 

• FujiNet and GitHub (Thom Cherryhomes) - https://youtu.be/aYwUGnfU5c0 

• FujiNet NOS By Example (Thom Cherryhomes) - https://fujinet.online/2025/01/08/fujinet-nos-a-network-only-dos/ 

• Atari 65XE in laptop form on Hackaday - https://hackaday.com/2025/01/05/atari-65xe-in-laptop-form/ 

• New season 2025 of the High Score Club:

• https://forums.atariage.com/topic/378830-new-season-2025-of-the-high-score-club/ 

• https://forums.atariage.com/forum/60-8-bit-high-score-club/ 

• Replacement Case for 800XL Coming to Kickstarter Q2 2025 - joeventura - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/378702-replacement-case-for-800xl/ 

• from Atariteca: Inufuto releases «Mieyen» for Atari 8-bit and 60 other retro systems:

• Article at Atariteca - https://www.atariteca.net.pe/2025/01/inufuto-lanza-mieyen-para-atari-8-bits.html

• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqRwCAygyeI (Atari 8 Bits For Ever)

• A8E - Atari 800 Emulator - https://www.zerstoerung.de/ 

• A JavaScript emulator built using A8E - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/224709-jsa8e-javascript-atari-800-xl-emulator-online/ 

• BW-DOS 1.5 update - https://github.com/HolgerJanz/BW-DOS 

Upcoming Shows

• Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 15-17, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com 

• Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ 

• VCF East - April 4-6, 2025 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org 

• Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ 

• VCF Europe - May 3-4 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/ 

• Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html 

• VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/ 

• Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

• Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 31-Aug. 3 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2025-se 

• Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/ 

• VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/ 

• Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/ 

YouTube Videos

• Using Atari with FujiNet to build source from Github Part 2: The Princess and the Frog - Thom Cherryhomes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppbV50iHFN4 

• Atari 8-bit Vs. Commodore 64 TV commercial - DashRetroTV - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JpsQTVoXq3U 

• I Won Atari 8-Bit eBay Auction for $71.00 : Was It Worth It? - Into the Vertical Blank - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUhys9krXtA 

• How to implement a Hopfield network in BASIC on the ATARI 800 - BASIC Hacking - 11 - Jean Michael Sellier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqAEClxrCsw 

• ATARI Party! - Retro Repair Roundup Episode #71 - Retro Repair Roundup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cybgH9hKC2Y 

• Atari 8-bit computer 400/800: The first gaming PC? - Stay Forever Podcast (German) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMJkq2D4oyc 

Commercial

• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JpsQTVoXq3U 

Feedback

• Stray Pointers Podcast - with the Antic hosts 

Closing

• Andy Diller’s site - https://www.atariorbit.org/ 

 

ANTIC Interview 452 - Dean Garraghty

Hello, and welcome to this interview-only episode of ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit computer podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig, your host for this episode.

Dean Garraghty is the proprietor of DGS Software, which sold, and continues to sell, software for the Atari 8-bit computers since the 80’s.  This is a very low cost, 191-disk set that includes an entire utility pack, games, issues of a disk-based newsletter, a sound and music package, an interesting programming language called Quick, and more.  Dean has been an Atari enthusiast since the 80’s and has an interesting story to tell concerning his journey with the Atari 8-bit.

This interview took place on April 6, 2024.

Links

• DGS Website - http://www.dgs.clara.net/ 

• DGS post on AtariAge - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/268373-dgs-pd-library-the-whole-lot-to-download/ 

• YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLn2nyiuk_OaW1Is4cZtvtQ 

 

ANTIC Episode 113 - Feeling Fancy!

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… The clear case Kickstarter doesn’t make it, lots of FujiNet news, and we end the year 2024 with a bang by bringing you all the rest of the Atari news; all while Kay is feeling fancy…

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 

Links for Items Mentioned in Show:

What we’ve been up to

• FASTBASIC on Mac -  (https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=EricCarr.fastbasic-debugger) 

• 10-liner option of FASTBASIC - https://github.com/dmsc/fastbasic/blob/master/compiler/USAGE.md#passing-options-to-the-compiler 

• Finished archiving Lee Pappas’ disks!! - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/378256-lee-pappas-analog-disks-treasure-hunt/ 

• Eaten by a Grue is back - https://monsterfeet.com/grue/notes/56 

• Kay TODO - https://www.atariorbit.org/2024/12/26/altirra-arm-and-sequoia/ 

• https://www.smoliva.blog/post/friend-of-the-blog-006-kay-savetz-antic-hybrid-arts/ 

• Keeping Up With Atari: Neoliberal Expectations in Early Electronics Advertising - https://tmgonline.nl/articles/10.18146/tmg.847 

• keyboard to replace domes on 130XE - https://amzn.to/4i10QZz 

News

• Clearcase Kickstarter update - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seethruit/injection-molded-clear-case-for-atari-800xl-computer 

• SpartaDOS 4.50 update - https://sdx.atari8.info/index.php?show=en_download_release 

• RM800XL update (from Philsan) with images:

• Philsan post - https://mastodon.world/@Philsan/113627289787765526 

• RM 800XL site - https://revive-machines.com/index-en.html 

• FujiNet news:

• FujiNet RAPID 13 (2024 wrap-up) and RAPID 12 by Andy Diller - https://www.atariorbit.org/rapid/ 

• FujiNet news substack by Brian Cox - https://fujinews.substack.com/ 

• Video by The VintNerd and Brian Cox on FujiNet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XcsSznKbTs 

• Atari FujiNet User's and Programmer's Guide (First Draft) - Thomas Cherryhomes - https://fujinet.online/2024/12/31/early-draft-of-fujinet-users-manual-for-atari-users-0-0-2/ 

• Atari Party East 2024 update from Andy Diller (Photos): 

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/vladimirvince/albums/72177720322425117 

• https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/t0qh6ekylnscbq6vbkkh8/APXF0_WBraGyO64fhDhVFIQ?rlkey=iey7dmfhet3ecahy229tzhfsy&e=1&dl=0 

• Atari 1200XL-1MB, Solder-Less 1088K SRAM-Based Memory Replacement Board by MyTek - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/378131-atari-1200xl-1mb-solder-less-1088k-sram-based-memory-replacement-board/ 

• The Joy of Sticks article in ROMchip Journal https://www.romchip.org/index.php/romchip-journal/article/view/204

• Altirra V4.30 - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/378003-altirra-430-released/ 

• ABBUC Magazine 159 - http://www.abbuc.de 

• Bubble-Bobble for the Atari 8-bit released - https://vega.atari.pl/main-page/bubble-bobble/ 

• Via Bill Lange on bluesky: “Playing "Kaiser", a pretty version of "Hammurabi" or "Kingdom" on the Atari 8-bit. I translated most of the German to English here” - https://github.com/billlange1968/Kaiser/wiki 

• “Archer Maclean’s DropZone returns with 40th Anniversary Edition landing this December” - https://www.flickeringmyth.com/archer-macleans-dropzone-returns-with-40th-anniversary-edition-landing-this-december/ 

Upcoming Shows

• Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 15-17, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com 

• Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ 

• VCF East - April 4-6, 2024 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org 

• Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/ 

• SFGE / VCFSE - June 20-22 Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/ 

• Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/ 

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

YouTube Videos

• How Atari 8-Bit Computers Work - The 8-Bit Guy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDAZAgrzNoo 

• Bubble Bobble:

• Saberman RetroNews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXo462Es-lg 

• Atari 8-bits Forever - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dZcJqTdIlk 

• CCA - Atari 8Bit Demoscene - 48k to 128k - The 400 Mini - Exploring Demos - CoffeeCupArcade - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ury9fxpwOvk 

• Seven Amazing New Atari 8-Bit Games including Bubble Bobble & Time Wizard Deluxe Edition! - ZeroPage Homebrews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P-6zzDZpHg 

• Silly Trip Demo for the Atari XL/XE PAL, 64kb and single POKEY by Desire - Heaven6502 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUEMvTSUEkE 

• The Best *#@! Christmas Ever: An Atari 8-bit Journey Into The Vertical Blank - Into the Vertical Blank - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9YfsN51kO0 

• Atari 2024 Recap video - https://youtu.be/J6PqOM9pXrA 

• Al Alcorn presents "Early Days of Atari" Lecture @ Museum of American Heritage (August 22) - https://youtu.be/0fnMoMb32ak?si=S_PxYEzDJfemcaFs 

• 6502 coding on Atari - Ellyse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfK78h8cvrQ 

New at Archive.org 

• https://archive.org/details/magatar-vol-2-num-1

• https://archive.org/details/cheat-alpha-systems

 

Daniel Serpell (dmsc), Creator of FastBasic   Daniel Serpell (dmsc) is the creator of FastBasic, a modern implementation of the BASIC programming language for the Atari 8-bit computers. He released the first version to the public in 2017. Today, the GPL-licensed language is up to version 4.6, and is a favorite of 10-line BASIC game contest entrants and anyone who wants a speedy, modern take on Atari programming.    I'm going to crib from AtariWiki's description of FastBasic: "It is a complete re-implementation of the BASIC system, using a built-in bytecode compiler rather than a tokenizing interpreter. Typical BASICs use an interpreter that examines every line of code as the program runs. ... FastBasic works on an entirely different principle. When a line is parsed in FastBasic, it (essentially) compiles the entire line into tokens and then leaves them in memory. This way the line does not have to be repeatedly parsed, even from the simplified token format, which makes it much faster to run."   FastBasic has other enhancements, including new commands for player-missiles and communicating with FujiNet, an option to only use faster integer math instead of floating point, and structured programming instead of line numbers.   This interview took place on December 21, 2024.   Video version of this interview   FastBasic at github   FastBasic at AtariWiki   10-line BASIC Contest   Daniel at atariage   Viña del Mar, Chile   BW-DOS   ANTIC Interview 436 - Rodrigo Castro, Atari in Chile   FastBasic Debugger Extension for VSCode   Support Kay's interview on Patreon

Robert Leyland: AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, MicroIllustrator   Robert Leyland programmed AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, and MicroIllustrator (along with Steve Dompier) - the graphics applications that worked with KoalaPad, Atari Touch Tablet, and Chalk Board PowerPad drawing tablets. Prior to that, he programmed The Dragon's Eye (published by Automated Simulations/EPYX), Murder on the Zinderneuf (published by Electronic Arts) and, with Jaron Lanier, the Atari version of Alien Garden for Automated Simulations.   This interview took place on January 21, 2023.   Video version of this interview   Robert's utilities at AtariMania   Robert's games at AtariMania   ANTIC Interview 104 - Aric Wilmunder, Star Raiders II, Temple of Apshai   ANTIC Interview 70 - Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates   De Re Atari   Support Kay's interview on Patreon