ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Jack Smyth, The Learning Company and Add-On Software Jack Smyth was the first CEO of The Learning Company, the educational software publisher best known for Reader Rabbit and Rocky's Boots. He was also involved with Add-On Software, a company that sold CP/M software for several computer platforms, including the Atari 8-bit line. The company built a hardware card, for use with the Atari 1090XL peripheral expansion box, that would have added CP/M functionality to Atari computers. That device was never sold, or at least was not widely available. This interview took place on March 8, 2018. After the interview, Jack sent me anl Add-On Software CP/M catalog (primarily focused on the Apple II) which I have scanned and uploaded to Internet Archive. Teaser quote: "I took my 5-year-old daughter with me to see how my daughter liked the software. ... Well my daughter loved it, and so I bought the company." Add-On Software catalog Add-On Software CP/M flyer 1984 InfoWorld article interviewing Smyth 1983 CP/M add-on announcement AtariMania's list of Learning Company software

Bryan Talbot, APX Cartoonist Bryan Talbot published one program for the Atari computer: Cartoonist, which was published by Atari Program Exchange. It first appeared in the fall 1983 APX catalog, where it was awarded first prize in the systems/telecommunications category. This interview took place on December 8, 2017. "I was just trying to contemplate what to do, and finally — I'd been going to all the missionary classes and I did the thing that they taught us to do. I just knelt down on the floor and I grabbed my 810 drive, and I prayed that God would fix my drive." Cartoonist in the fall 1983 APX catalog Cartoonist Manual and Disk Image

Dwight Johnson, Lake County Atari Computer Enthusiasts Dwight Johnson was founder of Lake County Atari Computer Enthusiasts, a users group based in Waukegan, IL. He started the group in April 1983. The group still exists today as a general PC computer users group, and is now called Lake County Area Computer Enthusiasts. This interview took place on April 12, 2018. Lake County Area Computer Enthusiasts

Colin Hume, Computer War Colin Hume worked at Thorn EMI for about a year, where he programmed one game for the Atari 8-bit computers: Computer War. Computer War was based on the 1983 movie War Games. Thomas Cherryhomes joined us to ask Colin some questions of his own. This interview took place on April 12, 2018. "Of course it was so totally different. There was no specification, no one ever checked through your code. There was no documentation. There was no maintenance." Computer War at AtariMania Colin's web site

Matthew McGinley, Elite Personal Accountant Matthew McGinley was the creator and publisher of Elite Personal Accountant, financial management software for the Atari computer. He released it in mid-1985 after working on it for several years. The review of Elite Personal Accountant by Stephen Roquemore in Antic magazine said, "This new program from a small company has just about every capability built into it that anyone could dream up. And the manual is one of the finest I have ever encountered. ... Elite Personal Accountant will handle 79 categories divided into income, expense, asset, and liability groups. As many as nine credit cards are handled separately, but counted as liabilities. There are 17 different transaction codes available. The reporting capabilities go well beyond the competition, with an option that allows you (within limits) to design your own reports." I found Matthew through an eBay listing, where he is selling the source code disks, printouts, and development notes. This interview took place on April 10, 2018. "Being stuck on certain routines that would give me an error, and I knew there must have been a simple answer. So I'd be going off to sleep, and I'd wake up two hours later. My mind was — ah, that's it! " Elite Personal Accountant on ebay Elite Personal Accountant review in Antic magazine Joyeuse 44, by Swan Starling

Cynde Moya, Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs Cynde Moya is Collections Manager at Living Computers: Museum + Labs. Located in Seattle, Washington, Living Computers is a computer museum that provides hands-on experiences using computers ranging from micros to mainframes. (Last time I was there, there was a Xerox Alto, an Apple I, and yes, an Atari 400 with a number of game carts, plus big iron like a Control Data 6500 and DEC PDP-10 - all those machines and more usable by visitors.) As Collections Manager, Cynde takes care of the museum's collection, and catalogs it. This interview took place on April 9, 2018. "It's definitely not all glory when you're cleaning dead rats out of an old computer." Cynde on Twitter Living Computers Museum + Labs

Mike Matthews, Alien Group Voice Box That voice you just heard in an Alien Group Voice Box II connected to an Atari 800. Voice Box was a external speech synthesizer box for the Atari 400 and 800. Voice Box, and its successor Voice Box II, was marketed by "The Alien Group" starting in July 1982. The device used the Votrax SC-01A speech synthesizer chip to add speech and singing to the Atari. Versions were also available for the Commodore 64 and Apple II computers. The Alien Group was actually an offshoot of Electro-Harmonix. Electro-Harmonix was founded by rhythm and blues keyboard player Mike Matthews in 1968. The company is still is business today, and is well-regarded for its guitar pedals and other musicians' gear. For more background on The Alien Group and Voice Box, I recommend reading Bill Lange's blog post "Atari Says Its First Word." This interview with Mike Matthews took place on November 13, 2017. *** One more thing: I talked with Scott Matthews, Mike's son. He told me in email: "My first big software project was for my dad, when I was about 13. What I wrote was an Atari BASIC function that would take a number as input, and would output the phonetic equivalent of that number. The idea was that other people -- who wanted to write applications that would speak a number -- could use the function to convert application-generated numbers to a speakable string." Scott also doesn't remember who, if anyone, won the $5000 contest for best talking software. Alien Group Voice Box II Demo on Atari 800 Atari 8-Bit ads: Atari Says Its First Word Photo of Mike and Voice Box Another Voice Box II ad Electro-Harmonix Goes To Russia Compute! magazine mentions Voice Box II

Winchell Chung, Avalon Hill games Winchell Chung worked at Avalon Hill computer games, where he was the Atari 8-bit computer programmer. He worked on Nuke War, B-1 Nuclear Bomber, Free Trader, Paris in Danger, and Vorrak. His best known game is probably Gulf Strike. This interview took place on April 10, 2018. "A good game with lousy graphics doesn't sell, but a lousy game with great graphics will." Atarimania's list of Winchell's games Winchell on Twitter Atomic Rockets

This is ANTIC, the Atari 8-bit podcast. I'm Kevin Savetz. I love old computers. If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you knew that already. I also love musical theater. So when I found out about Bits & Bytes, a 1983 musical about computers — well, that's right in my wheelhouse. Bits & Bytes was an educational touring production, created by South Coast Repertory Theater, a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. It was a 45-minute musical show, aimed at school kids, that was performed at elementary schools across Southern California from January through June of 1983. More than 60,000 children saw the show. The story is about Happy, a naive girl who goes into a computer store for the first time, wondering if a computer can "solve all her problems and make her truly happy." Morton B. Norton, a pushy, overzealous computer salesman, tries to sell her a computer, with the help of wacky sidekicks, Bits and Bytes. Through speech and song, the team teaches Happy about computers — what they can and can't do. A computer could help her be more organized, get her homework done, and play games. But Happy learns that a computer cannot really think, and is not a substitute for real, human friends. *** The goal of the play was to "show the realistic capabilities of computers as distinguished from commercial hypes and science fiction fantasy." Another goal was to emphasize the "talents unique to human beings — what makes us different from computers." South Coast Repertory Theater's educational touring productions took short original plays into area primary schools. The topic of computers was chosen for the 1983 production because surveyed teachers, parents, and principals overwhelmingly chose "computer literacy" as a topic they wanted to see covered. (Previous educational touring shows included Tomato Surprise, about nutrition; The Fitness Game, about physical fitness; and The Energy Show, about conserving energy.) The play was written by Michael Bigelow Dixon and Jerry Patch, with music by Diane King. It was directed by John-David Keller, with set design by Dwight Richard Odle. The assistant director/choreographer was Diane dePriest. An ensemble of five played all the roles, with one doubling as stage manager. The cast was Robert Crow, Sam Hamann, James Le Gros, Laura Leyva, and Deborah Nisimura. Bits & Bytes won the 1983 Pioneer Drama Service award for best new play. It ran for 246 performances, breaking the booking record for South Coast Repertory. The January 29, 1983 issue of the Los Angeles Times said: "...in some respects the current show is the most impressive so far. Now that computer technology has entered the home and workplace—as well as the shopping mall—it's noteworthy that a play can tell us how much more computers can do than launch missiles and gobble up space villains. … Diane King composed such a fine score—which includes evocations of different eras in pop music—that it almost has commercial possibilities of its own. "Laura Leyva plays Happy, the girl who, for a very long time, is led to believe—along with the rest of us—that the computer will solve all our problems. That's a dangerous and depressingly facile notion whose emphasis, early on, far outweighs the authors' concluding moral that 'computers can only deal with facts, not feelings.' "But Bits & Bytes humorously shows its audience of kids how advanced and widespread the computer revolution has become and that they stand well ahead of their parents at its ramparts." *** Texas Instruments donated a computer to the production: a TI 99/4A with monitor, peripheral expansion box, speech synthesizer, disk drives, and software. The computer was used as part of the set. I interviewed three people who helped create Bits & Bytes: first, Michael Bigelow Dixon, who is co-author of the play. Next we'll hear from Diane King, the composer. Finally we'll hear from Laura Leyva, the actress who played the roll of Happy. The interview with Michael Bigelow Dixon took place on March 9, 2018, with Diane King on March 6, and with Laura Leyva on March 16. Look at the show notes, where you'll find several photographs of the Bits & Bytes cast, reviews of the play, and articles about it. If you'd like to read the play or the score, that's trickier. They are not online due to copyright. I borrowed copies via interlibrary loan. If you saw this play, I would love to hear your memories of it. You can always email me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tania Thompson at South Coast Repertory for providing background information about this production, to Laura Leyva for providing photographs, to Michael Bigelow Dixon for providing articles from his archive, and to Diane King for digitizing her recordings from tape and allowing me to use them for this episode. Photos from Bits & Bytes Bits & Bytes article in Today Magazine, July 1983 Bits & Bytes in Family Computing Magazine, June 1984 Bits & Bytes in InfoWorld, Feb 28 1983 The Annotated Bits & Bytes - Orange County Magazine 1983-06 Education Through Entertainment - The Computing Teacher, 1983-10 Bits & Bytes study guide South Coast Repertory Theater

In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Computer Podcast: In our 50th episode, Kevin tells us about all his secret tours, we tell you about upcoming contests, review new books, and read lots of feedback from our listeners.

READY!

Recurring Links

Floppy Days Podcast

AtariArchives.org

AtariMagazines.com

Kevin'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

Donate to Ted Nelson project at: https://paypal.me/Savetz

TEH: Tech Enthusiast Hour - https://tehpodcast.com

What We've Been Up To

• Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest - https://archive.org/details/@savetz?and%5B%5D=Vintage+Computer+Festival+Pacific+Northwest
• Atari 1020 plotter https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=yAetCgnxYbc
• • Replacement X/Y gears: https://www.shapeways.com/product/CMBQ6D2Z4
• LCM tour (Dorsett tapes) - http://www.livingcomputers.org/
• Internet Archive visit - http://www.archive.org

• Theses project - https://archive.org/details/@savetz?and%5B%5D=thesis
• • Dandy source code: https://archive.org/details/Dandy_source
  • REWRITE word processor https://archive.org/details/REWRITE_word_processor

• Indy Vintage Computer Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1082702455167563/
• Video enhancement options
• • VBXE - RGB output providing crisp clear picture using LCD TV or RGB monitor - https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=53
  • Bryan Edewaard's UAV (Ultimate Atari Video) board - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260267-the-uav-rev-d-video-upgrade-thread/
  • Sofia - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/258702-new-development-gtia-in-cpld/

News

• 8 BIT ANNUAL book - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/8bitmagazine/8-bit-annual-2018-for-8-bit-computers-and-consoles
• If you have an Android device, you can listen to it with a free app InfoMan made called Retro Atari Podcasts - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromo.dev5592.app460787&hl=en
• BASIC Ten-Liners are back for 2018 - http://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/basic-10liners-2018
• ABBUC Software contest - Freetz on AtariAge - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/272415-abbuc-software-competition-2018/
• Stunt Car Racer - http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=7541
• RetroChallenge 2018/04 - http://www.retrochallenge.org/
• That company that calls itself Atari is doing a cryptocurrency - Atari Token - http://fortune.com/2018/02/16/atari-cryptocurrency-atari-token/
• The A-Z of Atari 8-bit Games: Volume 2 (The Atari 8-bit) Kindle Edition by Kieren Hawkin - https://www.amazon.com/Z-Atari-8-bit-Games-ebook/dp/B07B7P5CSF
• Upcoming Shows where you might see Atari computers (or Atari people):
• • VCF Southeast, April 21 & 22, 2018, this year at the Computer Museum of America Roswell, GA
  • Vintage Computer Festival East - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/ , When: May 18-20, 2018, Where: InfoAge Science Center, 2201 Marconi Rd., Wall, NJ
  • Southern Fried June 8-10 http://southernfriedgameroomexpo.com
  • KansasFest - https://www.kansasfest.org/ , July 17-22, 2018, Kansas City, Missouri
  • VCF West Aug 4-5 - https://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/
  • Portland Retro Gaming Expo - http://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ - Oregon Convention Center on October 19-21, 2018
  • other shows that will definitely occur but not yet announced:
  • • VCF Midwest - Elk Grove Village, IL - September
    • Atari Party - keep eye open
  • International Atari Shows (Nir Dary) - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/[email protected]&pli=1

YouTube videos this month

• YouTube videos this month - using the search term "Atari 800"
• • Atari 400 vs. Commodore VIC-20 - Round 1 - Fight! - by Retro Systems Rescue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeOJY9VUkyQ
  • Atari 400 Y/C (S-video) video mod by FlashJazzCat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WejZHNOMgYU
  • Atari 400 demonstration video tapes by Bill Lange - different resolutions - 5 minute video - shows Programmer, Communicator, Entertainer, Educator

• 1280 x 720 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE_qS5IEQhQ
• 1920 x 1080 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5DpP_-zrck
• 720 x 480 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3AGOXO4sdM

A Word From Our Sponsor

• ATARI 400 Demonstration Video Tapes - Bill Lange - https://atari8bitads.blogspot.com/2018/03/atari-home-computer-merchandising-aids.html

New at Archive.Org

• https://archive.org/details/Atari810DiskPeripheralDeviceDescription
• https://archive.org/details/NiteLiteBBS
• Cosmi's Text Pro II/Data-Pro II manual - https://archive.org/details/TextProDataPro
• https://archive.org/details/Conflict2500Manual1981
• https://archive.org/details/MidiTrackIIIManual
• https://archive.org/details/atari_800XL_Field_Service_manual_201802
• https://archive.org/details/1010CassetteRecorderFieldServiceManual
• https://archive.org/details/SpaceKnights by david heller dr wacko
• https://archive.org/details/SummaryOfCommandsCrusadeInEurope
• https://archive.org/details/Dandy_source

End of Show Music

• MotionRide (Pete) rock version of Disco Dirge - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa-twkXhXDQ

Possible side effects of listening to the Antic podcast include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat; drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous; mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation; increased appetite, weight changes; insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; dry mouth, intense hate of Commodore, and Amiga lust. Certain conditions apply. Offer good for those with approved credit. Member FDIC. An equal housing lender.