ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Paul Berker: Adventure in Time and Birth of the Phoenix

Paul Berker was a programmer for Phoenix Software, where he coded Birth of the Phoenix and Adventure In Time, which were both released for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computers; and Queen of Phobos, which was released on the Apple II only.

This interview took place on September 30, 2016. After the interview, Paul sent me several floppy disks with the Apple II and Atari source code for Birth of the Phoenix and Adventure In Time.

"Got an advance of like $2,000, and spent it all just acquiring an Atari 800 with two floppy drives..."

Source code courtesy of Paul

Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/0kXWKV1mpiY

AtariMania's list of Phoenix Software games

Gaming After 40 Walkthough of Birth of The Phoenix

Paul's web site: http://slasherworld.com

Charles Clinton

Charles Clinton was a contractor who worked on AtariLab, which was developed at Swarthmore College.

This interview took place on August 14, 2016 at Vintage Computer Festival West XI. In it, we discuss Priscilla Laws, whom I previously interviewed.

Priscilla Laws interview

Paula Polley, Copywriter

Paula Polley started at Atari in 1982, where she worked as a copywriter. She wrote marketing for product boxes and wrote for Atari Connection magazine.

This interview took place on August 14, 2016 at Vintage Computer Festival West XI.

Carl Moser and JR Hall, Eastern House Software

Carl Moser and JR Hall were founders of Eastern House Software, the company that created several products for Atari 8-bit users, including Monkey Wrench and Monkey Wrench II, and the KISS word processor. They also created the MAE assembler/software development system, which was available for Commodore PET, Apple //, Atari 8-bit, and other computers.

This interview took place on October 17, 2016.

Teaser quote: (Carl) "JR and I would work — we was working at AT&T a regular day, then we'd probably work 'til 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, then get up, go to work the next morning."

Universal 6502 Memory Test in issue 1 of Compute! magazine

Eastern House Software Advertisement

Eastern House Software - product catalog

Eastern House Software - dealer brochure

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

ANTIC Facebook Page

AHCS

What we've been up to

• 40 Great Flight Simulator Adventures - https://www.flightsimbooks.com/40gfsa/
• Atari PILOT Source Code
• Nir Dary's "Modern Atari 8bit Computer" channel on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmzjD_biYJ5hQf-MoK9Ztcw
• Atari Macro Assembler with Program Text Editor - http://mixinc.net/atari/amac.htm
• Atariteca - Giann Velasquez M - "Top seven upgrades for Atari computers" - http://atariteca.blogspot.pe/2016/10/siete-mejores-upgrades-para.html
• Randy's presentation on modern upgrades at VCFMW 11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNTiEZl30Fg
• Ultimate Cart runs by Santosp (Panagiotis Santos)
• VideoGames Hardware Handbook Volume 2 Revised Edition, 1977 to 2001, The Game Machine Collector's Manual, From the Creators of Retro Gamer

News

• Retrochallenge 2016/10 - http://retrochallenge.net/
• Atari headphones article - http://thegadgetflow.com/portfolio/gameon-earphones-atari-roam/
• Atari headphones at indiegogo - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gameon-sure-fit-earphones-studio-thumping-bass-headphones--3#/
• Art of Atari hardcover by Tim Lapetino - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1524101036/?tag=ataripodcast-20
• Atari Shows
• • "Silly Venture" (http://www.sillyventure.eu/en/ ) November 11-13 (Friday-Sunday) in Gdansk, Poland
  • Feb. 18, 2017 - "Atari Invasion", Marsveen, Holland - http://atari-invasion.nl/
  • VCF East - March 31 through April 2, 2017 - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/
  • VCF Zurich, November 19 and 20, 2016 - http://www.vcfe.ch/
• ABBUC 2016 hardware contest - http://www.abbuc.de/atari/hardware-ressort/80-hardware/hardwarewettbewerbe/1810-hardwarewettbewerb-2016
• ABBUC 2016 software contest - http://www.abbuc.de/atari/software-ressort/81-software/softwarewettbewerbe/1795-software-wettbewerb-2016
• Atari SIO plug at thingiverse - http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1831769
• Atari 8-bit Vs. Arcade - Part 9 - Kieren Hawken - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNDdIlYzVOo

New at Archive.org

• https://archive.org/details/ServiceManualForTheAtari1050DiskDrive
• https://archive.org/details/AtariFlightSimulatorII
• https://archive.org/details/APXMankala
• VCF 1-4 audio - https://archive.org/details/vintagecomputerfederation?sort=-publicdate
• Also at http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/festival-audiovideo-archive/

Bill's Modern Segment

• LaResistance website - http://laresistance.pigwa.net/
• Crownland (2007, PAL, 128K (e.g., 130XE), final version)
• Crownland preview (2006, PAL, 64K, WIP; only one level)
• Crownland review from RGCD Issue #04, December 2007
• "Racing the Beam" by MIT Press - https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/racing-beam
• "Parallax Scrolling" article at Giant Bomb - http://www.giantbomb.com/parallax-scrolling/3015-2915/
• "Parallax Scrolling" article at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_scrolling
• "Jump! for the Atari 8-bit family" @ YouTube (Highretrogamelord) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSTGTks6JI
• "Shadow of the Beast for 8-bit Atari" @ YouTube (CmdrJJA) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzWEpMl_kro
• "Amiga Longplay Shadow Of The Beast" @ YouTube (World of Longplays) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiAUZe_kL_Y
• "Flimbo's Quest Longplay (C64) [50FPS]" @ YouTube (Al82: Retrogaming Longplays & Reviews) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiCxXMquPKs
• "Parallax Demo" into at Atari 8-bit Forever - http://gury.atari8.info/demos/896.php
• "Revealing the secrets: A real 2 layer scroll on C64." - http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2922
• "Atari Longplay - Crownland" @ YouTube (basicgamelover) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRuhcpSvXdk

Feedback

• Living Computers: Museum + Labs - http://www.livingcomputers.org/

Rodnay Zaks, Founder of Sybex Books

Rodnay Zaks was the founder of computer book publisher Sybex Books, and is author of many classic computer programming books, including 6502 Applications (1979), Programming the 6502, Advanced 6502 Programming, and 6502 Games. He also wrote or co-wrote Programming the Z80, Programming the 6809, Your First Apple II Program, Programming the Apple II in Assembly Language, and other books.

This interview took place on October 14, 2016.

Rodnay on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodnay_Zaks

Teaser quotes:

"The first 5,000 books sold out, mail order, within a few days. So it was clear that there was more interest than we anticipated."

"She said, 'There is a computer in this machine?' I said 'Yes.' And she went out screaming and never returned."

Thom Graziano, CompuClub

Thom Graziano was founder of CompuClub, an Atari mail-order company and retail store based in Massachusetts. The company began in 1983 and closed in 1986.

CompuClub ran full-page advertisements in the Atari magazines with the headline "The Greatest Atari of All Time." For a $5 annual membership, you could become a CompuClub member, which got you a subscription to their newsletter and access to their catalog of Atari software at "at least 25% below retail." The company only sold programs for the Atari computers — first, the 8-bits and later, the ST line.

This interview took place on October 13, 2016.

Teaser quote: "The Department of Defense was sending Atari software to schools all over the world ... I tried to be very up-front and very honest with them."

CompuClub newsletters: http://www.digitpress.com/library/newsletters/compuclub/

CompuClub ad

CompuClub catalogs

Kris Meier, CompuTalk BBS sysop

Kris Meier was sysop of CompuTalk BBS, a popular six-line BBS based in Texas that ran off off six Atari 800 computers. In this interview, I read from the article "CompuTalk: Texas-Sized BBS" by Gregg Pearlman, which ran in the August 1987 issue of Antic magazine.

This interview took place on October 6, 2016. In it, we discuss Tom Hudson, whom I previously interviewed.

"What? An Atari computer did this? Yeah. An Atari computer did this."

CompuTalk: Texas-Sized BBS

CompuTalk gets Antic magazine award: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v7n1/awards.html

CompuTalk mention in The North Texan, fall 1988: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc119047/m1/5/

CompuTalk article in Longview News-Journal, July 7, 1985: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/209903449/

Tom Hudson on CompuTalk: http://analog.klanky.com/funstuff.htm

Antic interview with Tom Hudson

Brian Lee, Synapse and Broderbund

Brian Lee started at clothing retailer The Gap, where he used Atari computers for expense control and store operations. He was Vice President of Product Development at Synapse Software from 1982 through 1985, where he managed the Syn line of business software, and programmed SynTrend. Next he was Director of Acquisition at Br0derbund from 1984 to 1985.

This interview took place on September 30, 2016. In it, we discuss Mike Silva, whom I previously interviewed.

"So he sat nervously with $30,000 in stacked, bound $100 bills in his jacket pockets, for the entire flight over from Japan."

Brian's web site: http://www.brianleeresume.com

Filling the GAP article in Antic magazine: http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n3/fillingthegap.html

Mike Silva interview: http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-170-mike-silva-syncalc

Inverse ATASCII podcast on SynTrend: https://inverseatascii.info/2016/10/16/s3e02-synapse-syntrend-synstat-syngraph-supplement/

Harry McCracken, Technology Journalist

Harry McCracken is a technology journalist — he's technology editor at Fast Company magazine. He cut his teeth on the TRS-80 and Atari 400 computers, including writing for Creative Computing magazine, and creating a game that he wanted to publish with Atari Program Exchange, but didn't finish.

This interview took place on September 27, 2016.

Harry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/harrymccracken

"...fact about the Atari 400 was that it had maybe the worst keyboard in the history of computing. ... Oddly enough I don't remember having trouble with the keyboard, maybe because when you're programming, it is, generally speaking, not about the speed at which you type."