Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

I’m particularly excited to be bringing you this 2-part episode because I will be covering the Atari 400 & 800 computers. This first episode will cover the history of these machines and next month I will cover Web sites, emulation, books, software, magazines, tech specs, and much more. Even more exciting, for both episodes I have several special guest hosts helping me cover these topics. I think you’re going to enjoy these.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• Raspberry Pi - http://www.raspberrypi.org/

• A2CLOUD - http://appleii.ivanx.com/prnumber6/category/a2cloud/

• A2SERVER - http://appleii.ivanx.com/a2server/

• Apple II Pi - http://schmenk.is-a-geek.com/wordpress/

• Arduino - http://www.arduino.cc/

• “Collectible Microcomputers” by Michael Nadeau - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0764316001/?tag=flodaypod-20

• Network cartridge for the Atari 8-bits by Mark Dusko and Dan Winslow - Antic Interview #21 - (http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-21-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-dan-winslow-mark-dusko-atari-8-bit-ethernet-project

• “Landmarks in Digital Computing: A Smithsonian Pictoral History” by Peggy A. Kidwell and Paul E. Ceruzzi - http://www.amazon.com/LANDMARKS-DIGITAL-COMP-PB-KIDWELL/dp/1560983116

• Paul Ceruzzi in episode 30 of Floppy Days - http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-episode-30-paul-ceruzzi-smithsonian

• “Apple Assembly Language Programming” by Malcolm Whapshott - http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Assembly-Language-Programming-Wapshott/dp/0810471205

News

• Electric Dreams BBS Podcast - http://www.edbbspodcast.com/ - Mike Whalen and Jeff Salzman

• From Bedrooms to Billions: The Amiga Years! - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1195082866/from-bedrooms-to-billions-the-amiga-years?ref=nav_search

Upcoming Shows

• Midwest Gaming Classic - http://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ April 11 & 12, 2015, Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel

• VCF East X - http://www.vintage.org/2015/east/April 17-19, 2015, Wall, New Jersey

• The 24th Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ April 25 & 26, 2015, Heron Point Convention Center, 645 West North Avenue, Lombard, IL

• VCF SE 3.0 - http://www.vintage.org/2015/southeast/ - Saturday, May 2 & Sunday, May 3, 2015 Kings Market Shopping Center, Roswell, Georgia

• Commodore Vegas Expo - http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex July 18-19, 2015, Plaza Hotel & Casino, 1 Main Street in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

• 27th Annual KansasFest - http://www.kansasfest.org/ July 14 –19 in Kansas City, Missouri.

• Amiga 30th Anniversary Event https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/890300835/amiga-30th-anniversary-in-california Saturday, July 25 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Kickstarter runs until April 18

• VCF Midwest 10 - http://vcfmw.org/ August 29-30, 2015, Elk Grove Village, IL

• Chicago TI International World Faire - http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire October 31, 2015, Evanston, IL

References

• Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_8-bit_family

• “Atari Inc.:Business is Fun” by Marty Goldberg and Curt Vendel - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0985597402/?tag=flodaypod-20

Evan Koblentz comes on and talks all about the upcoming Vintage Computer Festival East 10.0.

Special co-hosts Earl Evans (Retrobits & RCR) and Michael Mulhern (RCR).

Links and stuff:

• VCF East at vintage.org - vintage.org/2015/east/

• VCF East Facebook - facebook.com/vcfeast

• VCF East Twitter - twitter.com/vcfeast

Evan’s book project:

• the campaign - https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/3wNcc

• Facebook - facebook.com/abacustosmartphone

• Twitter - twitter.com/abacustophone

I wanted to bring to you this month a special interview-only episode which is a bit different. My guest on this show is Mr. Eric Enge, who was an executive at Phoenix Technologies, most well-known as the company that clean-roomed an IBM PC compatible ROM BIOS and helped spark an era of IBM PC clones. This is a piece of computer history that may not be particularly well-known, but was an important milestone nonetheless. Enjoy.

Links:

Phoenix Technologies - http://www.phoenix.com/

Phoenix Technologies at wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Technologies

Stone Temple Consulting (Eric’s site) - https://www.stonetemple.com/about-eric-enge/

Eric at LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericenge

Hi, everyone and welcome to a special interview-only episode of Floppy Days. My name is Randy Kindig and I’m the host of this podcast. This interview is with Paul Ceruzzi, curator of Aerospace Electronics and Computing at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C and author of several computer history books. Those books include “A History of Modern Computing”, “Computing: A Concise History”, “Landmarks in Digital Computing: A Smithsonian Pictorial History” and more. Paul also sits on the Honorary Council of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

Links

• Paul’s personal website - http://www.ceruzzi.com/

• The MIT Press Catalog of Paul Ceruzzi - http://mitpress.mit.edu/authors/paul-e-ceruzzi

• Computer History Museum Honorary Council - http://www.computerhistory.org/honorary/?fn=Paul&ln=Ceruzzi

• Paul E. Ceruzzi Collection on Konrad Zuse - http://discover.lib.umn.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=umfa;cc=umfa;rgn=main;view=text;didno=cbi00219

• http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262032554/flodaypod-20 - “A History of Modern Computing” by Paul E. Ceruzzi, The MIT Press

Hello and welcome to episode 29 of Floppy Days. My name is Randy Kindig and I’m the host of this podcast. This is a special interview-only episode of Floppy Days. I’m very excited to have with me today the authors of the various editions of the computer history book entitled “Fire in the Valley”; that being Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. I think a majority of the listeners will be familiar with the book. I have mentioned it several times before on this podcast and have used it as a reference for the vintage computers I’ve covered. Many listeners will also be familiar with the movie “The Pirates of Silicon Valley” starring Anthony Michael Hall as a young Bill Gates and Noah Wyle as a young Steve Jobs which was made based on the book. I was amazed when I recently contacted the authors about coming onto Floppy Days and both of them immediately responded that they would be happy to. Pay special attention to our conversation at the end of the interview, which may hint at something special to come on Floppy Days. Before we begin, I do want to warn you that the Skype quality for this interview was not the best at times. Nevertheless, I think you will enjoy it!!

Links:

“Fire in the Valley” 2nd Edition at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071358927/?tag=flodaypod-20

“Fire in the Valley” 3rd Edition at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937785769/?tag=flodaypod-20

“Fire in the Valley: The Birth and Death of the Personal Computer, Third Edition” by Michael Swaine and Paul Freiberger at the Pragmatic Bookshelf - https://pragprog.com/book/fsfire/fire-in-the-valley

“The Pirates of Silicon Valley” at IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_38

“The Pirates of Silicon Valley” at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009NSCS0/?tag=flodaypod-20

Paul Freiberger’s Site - “Fire in the Valley: the Making of the Personal Computer” - http://www.paulfreiberger.com/book/fire-valley-making-personal-computer/

Swaine’s World - Michael Swaine’s Blog on Writing and Technology - http://www.swaine.com/wordpress/category/about/

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/FireInTheValley

Paul Freiberger Contact Information:

[email protected]

Michael Swaine Contact Information:

Blog: www.swaine.com

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @pragpub or @mswaine

Main Topic: The TRS-80 Model II

At this point in the podcast run, we are still in the late 1970’s time frame, and the TRS-80 Model II falls into that time frame for its release. As usual, we’ll cover the history, technical specs, peripherals, Web sites, books, emulation and much, much more. I am joined by special guest host Myles Wakeham who will help me cover this machine. But first, I’ll cover new acquisitions, news, feedback, and an interview with Myles before diving into the TRS-80 Model II.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• Holmes Engineering IM-2 TRS-80 Model I Memory Upgrade - http://www.trs-80.org/holmes-internal-memory/

News

• CoCo Coding Contest - http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/CoCoCoding_1980_Contest

• The MISE Project - http://home.comcast.net/~bartlett.p/MISE/

• DynoSprite - https://www.github.com/richard42/dynosprite

• RetroChallenge - http://www.wickensonline.co.uk/retrochallenge-2012sc/

• VCF East X - http://www.vintage.org/2015/east/exhibit.php

Feedback

• OSI Challenger advertisement on the back cover of the Dec 1980 Byte magazine - https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1980-12/1980_12_BYTE_05-12_Adventure#page/n403/mode/2up

Magazines/Newsletters/Books/Manuals

• manual for the TRS 80 Model II in PDF - http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/trs80m2/doc/Model_2_Operation_Manual_(19xx)(Tandy).pdf

• Trs-80 Means Business: Trs-80 Model II, With 64K (Diskette and Book) Hardcover – July, 1982 by Ted G. Lewis - http://www.amazon.com/Trs-80-Means-Business-Model-Diskette/dp/0471875651

• User's Handbook to the Trs-80 Model II Computer Paperback – June, 1983 by Jeffrey R. Weber - http://www.amazon.com/Users-Handbook-Trs-80-Model-Computer/dp/0938862014/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418176303&sr=1-5&keywords=trs-80+model+II

• VisiCalc for the TRS-80 model II and model 16 computers (Microcomputer power series) 1982 by Edouard J Desautels - http://www.amazon.com/VisiCalc-TRS-80-model-computers-Microcomputer/dp/0697099555/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418176303&sr=1-7&keywords=trs-80+model+II

Ads

• Marketing brochure for the Model II - http://www.trailingedge.com/trs80/TRS80Mod2.pdf

Modern Upgrades

• FreHD hard drive emulator - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/emulator

Emulation

• MESS - http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=trs80m2

Videos

• Model II Ramblings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG0ABstKl4Q

• Unboxing a TRS-80 Model II by Devin2277 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTc7ceIwREA

• Reassembling the TRS-80 Model II (4 parts) by Devin2277 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKtbOwDVed0

Current Web Sites

• oldcomputers.net - http://oldcomputers.net/trs80ii.html

• home page of Kees Stravers - http://home.iae.nl/users/pb0aia/cm/modelii.html

• Ira Goldklang’s TRS-80 Revived Site @ trs-80.com - http://www.trs-80.com/wordpress/trs-80-computer-line/model-ii/

• VanNatta Computer History - http://www.vannattabros.com/history2.html

• old-computers.com - http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=243

• Dave’s Old Computers - http://classiccmp.org/dunfield/trs80/index.htm

• Digibarn Computer Museum - http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/trs80-model2/

• PDF documentation for the Tandy TRS-80 model II - http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/trs80m2/doc/index.html

• Bill Degnan’s Model II Restoration Project - http://www.vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=184

• Computer Museum of FJKraan (Yet Another Computer Museum) - http://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/trs80m2/

References

• Wikipedia - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80#Model_II_and_12

Main Topic: The OSI Challenger series of computers

At this point in the podcast run, we are still in the late 1970's time frame, and the OSI machines fall into that time frame for their release. No vintage computer historical journey would be complete without including these very important machines. As usual, we'll cover the history, technical specs, peripherals, Web sites, books, emulation and much, much more. I am joined by special guest host Terry Stewart of the Classic Computers website who will help me cover these machines. In addition, we are joined by OSI aficionados Mark Csele and David Fenyes who share their first-hand memories of the OSI. But first, I'll cover new acquisitions, news, and feedback before diving into the OSI.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions/What I've Been up to

• TI-99 Extended BASIC Suite cartridge - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extended-Basic-v2-7-Suite-Cartridge-/231378985072

• Microsoft BASIC II for the Atari 8-bit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Microsoft_BASIC

• CoCo SDC SD Card Interface for the TRS-80 Color Computer - http://cocosdc.blogspot.com/

News

• CSDB intro competition - http://csdb.dk/event/?id=2286

• Ben Heck's Apple 1 Replica - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwO8CTSLTkiiDKhVfiUXyuzfbHMPOYVPj

• VCF East 10.0 - http://www.vintage.org

• Donkey Kong Junior for C64 - http://csdb.dk/release/?id=134342

• Another Apple-1 Goes for Auction - http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/03/us-auction-apple-idUSKBN0IN0ZX20141103

• Atari: Game Over Movie - http://video.xbox.com/movie/atari-game-over/4B8575C6-BD05-48E8-92C9-C61BA57E8025

• C64 Reset Magazine - http://reset.cbm8bit.com/

Ads

• COMPUTE! ISSUE 1 / FALL 1979 / PAGE 101 - Review of the Challenger 1P - http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue1/3227_2_REVIEW_THE_CHALLENGER_1P.php

Software

• ad from Micro magazine, August 1981 - http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele/images/osiImages/AardvarkAd-Aug1981Micro.jpg

• Aardvark - http://www.lysator.liu.se/adventure/Aardvark.html

• price list at osiweb.org - http://www.osiweb.org/ads_and_catalogs/OSI%20software%20list.pdf

Books

• SAMS C4P Service Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/SAMS-C4P-Service-Manual.pdf

• Micro on the OSI - http://www.osiweb.org/books/Micro_on_the_OSI.pdf

• Third Book of OSI - http://www.osiweb.org/books/Third_Book_of_OSI.pdf

Manuals/Catalogs

• OSI Catalog - circa 1980 - http://www.osiweb.org/ads_and_catalogs/OSI_brochure.pdf

• OS65D v3.0 User Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OS-65D_V3.0_usermanual.pdf

• OS65D Tutorial and Ref Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OS65D%20Tutorial%20and%20Ref%20Manual.pdf

• OSI 8K BASIC in ROM MANUAL - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OSI_8K_Basic_in_ROM.pdf

• The C4P User's manual. Shipped with C4P systems - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/c4man.pdf

• OS-65D V3.2 Dissasembly Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OS65D_Dissasembly_Manual.pdf

Emulation

• WinOSI Emulator for Win32 - http://osi.marks-lab.com/

• OSI JavaScript Emulator - http://www.pcjs.org/devices/c1p/

• MESS - http://www.mess.org

Buying and Using One Today (eBay and replicas)

• Notes on modern replacements for hard-to-find OSI components - http://www.osiweb.org/misc/osi-replacement-parts.txt

• Briel Computers Superboard III Replica - http://www.brielcomputers.com/wordpress/?cat=39

Current Web Sites

• Dave's OSI Repository (David Fenyes) - http://www.osiweb.org/

• OSI Forum - http://www.osiweb.org/osiforum/

• Mark's Ohio Scientific/Compukit UK101 Archive - http://osi.marks-lab.com/

• Ohio Scientific Instruments Company facts and history - http://superboard.com.sapo.pt/seite4.html

• Professor Mark Csele - Ohio Scientific Computers - http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele/OhioScientific.html

• The Ohio Scientific C4P Page at 6502.org - http://www.6502.org/users/sjgray/computer/osi-c4p/

• oldcomputers.net - http://oldcomputers.net/osi-600.html - some information about the various OSI models

• old-computers.com - http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=572&st=1

• The Ohio Scientific Inc. Challenger 1P and 4P: As seen in Tezza's classic computer collection - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQUhFoBDGT0

• Tezza's OSI C4P Adventure - http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2014-06-30-fixing-C4P-ram-expansion-board.htm

• Wikipedia - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Scientific

This is a special interview-only show with none other than Terry Stewart, aka Tezza, of the classic-computers.org.nz Web site. Terry is long-time member of the vintage computing community and has done the community a great service by producing excellent videos about each member of his extensive vintage computer collection. If you haven’t had a chance to see any of Terry’s videos, you definitely should check them out; they’re on YouTube and you can subscribe to his channel. You should also check out his Web site, which has tons of useful information about each machine as well as troubleshooting tips, a forum, and much more.

Terry was kind enough to co-host the Floppy Days episode on the OSI Challenger series of computers and since the episode ran a little long I decided to pull out the interview into its own show.

Please enjoy and let Terry know that you appreciate the great work that he does.

Terry’s Classic Computers - http://classic-computers.org.nz

New Zealand Computer Museum - http://www.techvana.org.nz/

New Zealand winds - http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/63231922/140kmh-winds-leave-path-of-damage

A bit on the roaring 40s - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Forties

Special interview-only episode with Pepe Tozzo, author of Retro-Electro: Collecting Technology from Atari to Walkman.

Book "Retro-Electro: Collecting Technology from Atari to Walkman" at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0789313022/?tag=flodaypod-20

News, upcoming vintage computer shows, feedback. Special co-host Jim Battle of compucolor.org and audio clips from Graham and Garry Epps!

Main topic: The CompuColor II

Links Mentioned in the Show:

What I’ve Been Up To/New Acquisitions

• VCF Midwest - http://starbase.globalpc.net/eccc/, https://www.facebook.com/events/257907004391707/

• TI CC-40 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments_Compact_Computer_40

• TI PC-200 Printer - http://www.datamath.org/Sci/Galaxy/PC-200.htm

News

• Kickstarter Funded ‘Commodore 64: A Visual Compendium’ Hits Online Stores - http://www.funstock.co.uk/commodore-64-a-visual-commpendium-c64-book

• SpeccyJam website - http://www.speccyjam.com/

• SpeccyJam 2014 Games page - http://www.speccyjam.com/games/

• The Living Computer Museum is hiring a Sr. Vintage Software Developer - http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/TemplateMain.aspx?contentId=45

• Reddit’s Retrobattlestations BASIC week is back on its 3rd edition - http://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/2fn1zq/basic_week_3_under_the_sea/

• Dartmouth BASIC Simulator - http://dtss.dartmouth.edu

• Glenside Color Computer Club - http://glensideccc.com/newindex.shtml

• Dartmouth BASIC Contest initial information - http://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/comments/2ee4l5/cocofest_dartmouth_time_sharing_system_contest/

• Amstrad CPC-464 Contest happening in Spain - http://concursocpc.byterealms.com/concurso2014/

• Vintage Is The New Old - http://www.vintageisthenewold.com or http://www.vitno.net

• Commodore is Awesome - http://awesome.commodore.me

• History of Personal Computing Podcast - http://www.historyofpersonalcomputing.com/

• 32nd Chicago TI International World Faire - http://www.chicagotiug.com/tiki-index.php?page=Faire

• VCF East 10.0 - http://www.midatlanticretro.com/

Emulation

• JavaScript CompuColor II Emulator by Jim Battle - http://compucolor.org/emu/ccemu.html

• MESS (emulation) - http://www.mess.org/

Current Web Sites/Links/Mail Lists

• Computer Closet - http://www.computercloset.org/CompuColorII.htm

• OldComputers.com - http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=560&st=1

• OldComputers.net - http://oldcomputers.net/compucolor-ii.html

• Instruction Manual - http://oldcomputers.net/Compucolor-II-Instruction-Manual.pdf

• Programming and Reference Manual - http://oldcomputers.net/Compucolor-II-Prog-Ref-Manual-rev-1.pdf

• Software Library Newsletter - http://oldcomputers.net/Compucolor-II-Library-Newsletters.pdf

• ComputerWorld, May15, 1978 - http://books.google.com/books?id=ycJb-Oo9BoIC&lpg=PA73&ots=7ZVosHzlhr&dq=compucolor%20georgia&pg=PA73#v=onepage&q=compucolor%20georgia&f=false

• CompuColor.org - A tribute to the CompuColor II (Jim Battle) - http://www.compucolor.org/

• CompuColor II video on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_jWcgwgmwg

• CompuColor ad at vintagecomputing.com - http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/580/retro-scan-of-the-week-compucolor-ii

• Earl Evans’ episode about the CompuColor II on the Retrobits podcast - http://retrobits.libsyn.com/show-092-a-close-encounter-the-compu-color-ii

• Chess on the CompuColor at the Chess Programming Wiki - https://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Compucolor+Chess

• DiskVacuum project reads and explores Compucolor II disks (Jim Battle) - http://www.gadgetfactory.net/2014/01/diskvacuum-project-reads-and-explores-compucolor-ii-disks/

• THE GIANNA GIAVELLI BLOG - interesting discussion on why the Apple II succeeded and the CompuColor failed - http://thegiannagiavelliblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/apple-falling-apart-without-jobs.html

• CompuColor’s used at the EPCOT Universe of Energy for Ride Operator Consoles - http://progresscityusa.com/energy/tech_console.htm

References

• Wikipedia - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compucolor_II

Closing

• Throwback Network - http://www.throwbacknetwork.net

Jim Battle Links

• Two videos Jim recorded to help sell his compucolor on ebay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_jWcgwgmwg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkjYM2bXhrM

• Longer tour of the machine- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibRA6fcwBpc

• Demonstration of what it looks like when you delete a file - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RNl5C_4ZGY

• ISC portion of bitsavers.org - http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/intelligentSystemsCorp/

• Jim Battle website, with email link and links to his other vintage computer sites - http://www.thebattles.net

• Page with all Jim’s vintage computer stuff - http://thebattles.net/jimsjunk.html

• Jim’s Wang 2200 Site - http://www.wang2200.org