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

Tim Boehlert, Atari's WCI Labs Division   Tim Boehlert began at Atari in 1982. He worked at WCI Labs, the New York Atari subsidiary, where he worked on the broadboard of the 600XL, robotics projects, and mass storage devices.   This interview took place on June 4, 2022.   Video version of this interview   ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer   ANTIC Interview 332 - Mike Matthews, Alien Group Voice Box   ANTIC Interview 383 - Gregg Squires, Atari Manager of Hardware Engineering   Strong Museum of Play   Support Kay's interview on Patreon

Frank Foster, Hybrid Arts   Frank Foster was one of the founders of Hybrid Arts, the company that made MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) hardware and software for Atari 8-bit and Atari ST computers. Frank was in charge of marketing for the company. After Hybrid Arts, Frank headed the music division at Atari, where he build marketing partnerships with Tangerine Dream, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, and other musicians.   I talked with two of the other Hybrid Arts founders, Robert Moore and Paul Rother, in my previous interview.   This interview took place on February 20, 2024.    Video version of this interview   My interview with Robert Moore and Paul Rother   Hotz MIDI Translator: Atari Team Redefines Electronic Instruments   Frank Foster Biography   Frank's SIGGRAPH documentary on computer graphics   Hybrid Arts Timeline, Founders, and Goals document by Robert Moore   Midi Maze at AtariMania   ANTIC Interview 434 - Michael Park: Swan and Fujiboink Demos, MIDI Maze   ANTIC Interview 193 - Gary Yost, The Catalog and Cyber Studio   Support Kay's interview on Patreon

Robert Moore and Paul Rother, Hybrid Arts MIDIMate   Robert Moore and Paul Rother were two of the founders of Hybrid Arts, along with Frank Foster and Alan Hart. Hybrid Arts created the MIDIMate, hardware that added Musical Instrument Digital Interface capability to the the Atari 8-bit computers; and various software for it including MIDITrack. Hybrid Arts continued on to make a wide variety of MIDI and music software for the Atari ST (which has built-in MIDI) including EZ-Track.   Paul was the programmer, Robert the music and sales person, and Frank Foster was the marketing person. Frank couldn't make it to this interview due to scheduling issues, but he'll be in my next interview.    This interview took place on January 18, 2024.   Video version of this interview   Hybrid Arts Timeline, Founders, and Goals document by Robert Moore   Hybrid Arts - Revolutionize the Process of Modern Movie Making   Hybrid Arts on Computer Chronicles (starts at 8 minutes)   8-bit Hybrid Arts software at AtariMania   Atari ST Hybrid Arts software at AtariMania   MIDI Track III Manual   Midipatch: DX Editor for Yamaha DX manual   mt-32pi Roland MT-32 emulator   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon

Mary Eisenhart, MicroTimes magazine   Mary Eisenhart was editor of MicroTimes magazine, a free, advertising-supported magazine that was distributed in California. The first issue was May 1984, and Mary remained at the magazine until 1998, producing more than 180 issues. MicroTimes provided interviews, computer industry news, rumors, and columns, and - of course - advertising. For most of its run, there were two editions of each issue: Northern California and Southern California.    When she left MicroTimes, Mary took with her a copy or two of every issue, which years later were scanned by Internet Archive. The almost-complete collection is now online, full-text searchable, where they can be read online or downloaded.   As a young teenager growing up in Southern California, I read MicroTimes whenever I could find it, usually in record stores. It was a great computer magazine, with the huge bonus that it was free. When I graduated college in Northern California, I wrote for MicroTimes as often as possible (Mary was my editor.) The $200 per article paychecks were the start of my freelance writing career.    Mary and I didn't talk too much about Atari in this interview, but rest assured there was plenty of material of interest to Atari lovers in MicroTimes. For instance, issue 1 has Mary's interview with Jon Freeman and Anne Westfall, creators of Archon. A 1985 cover article features "The People Behind 'The Print Shop'" — and there was a long-running Atari ST column written by Helmi Kobler.   This interview took place on November 25, 2024.   Video version of this interview at YouTube   MicroTimes at Internet Archive [NEEDED for scanning: Volume 2 Number 12, most of Volume 3]   Mary's web site   BAM Magazine in Wikipedia   Hedy Lamarr issue   Kay's first published article   Support Kay's interviews on Patreon