Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

The BBC Micro - Interview with Hermann Hauser

Hi, everyone, and welcome to episode 99 for May 2020 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where we look at home computers of the 70's and 80's across the globe, not just the U.S.

This episode is one in a series of episodes on one of the iconic British machines that was so important to the home computer revolution: The BBC Micro. In episode 97, I had an interview with one of the key members of the BBC Micro team: Mr. Steve Furber. In this episode, with Steve's help, I was able to get an interview with another key member of that team: Mr. Hermann Hauser.

Last episode (#98) I summarized the history of the BBC Micro and I don't want to repeat that here, but I want to give you just a bit of information about Hermann to help set the stage for the interview to follow:

Chris Curry and Mr. Hauser set up a company called Acorn Computer Ltd. and in January 1979 they launched their first product: a microcomputer kit named Acorn System 75. The name Acorn was chosen because the microcomputer system was to be expandable and growth-oriented and appeared before "Apple Computer" in a telephone directory.

Their follow-up product was a microcomputer called the Atom. After it had been released into the market, Acorn (due to an idea proposed by Hermann) decided to build an improved 6502-based machine with far greater expansion capabilities: the Proton.

Hauser quickly pulled in Steve Furber (who had been working for Acorn on a voluntary basis) and Sophie Wilson to help complete a revised version of the Proton which met the specifications that the British Broadcasting Corporation was shopping around to find a partner for their planned literacy program. BBC visited Acorn and were given a demonstration of the Proton. Shortly afterwards, the literacy program computer contract was awarded to Acorn, and the Proton was launched in December 1981 as the BBC Micro.

Hermann Hauser believes that if he had had just a little more foresight all those years ago, the world would now talk about Acorn compatible rather than IBM compatible computers. Wouldn't that be interesting?

Anyway, I'm very excited and proud to have gotten an interview with Hermann and I enjoyed talking with him very much. I hope you enjoy it as well.

I'm still planning, in upcoming episodes, to cover all of the usual topics on the Beeb, such as its history in depth, tech specs, modern upgrades, Web sites and a ton of other information about this machine.

Before we jump into the interview, I'll spend just a moment to let you know about any new acquisitions I've managed to get for the hobby and any hobby-related things I've been working on.

Please enjoy!

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• Heathkit ET-3400 Microprocessor Trainer - https://www.vintage-computer.com/heathkit3400.shtml
• ET-3400 Microprocessors Book 1 - https://archive.org/details/6800-Microprocessors-Book-1and-2-Heathkit-1985
• Oh! Pascal by Michael Clancy - https://www.amazon.com/Oh-PASCAL-Doug-Cooper/dp/0393954455
• Software Tools in Pascal - Brian Kernighan - https://www.amazon.com/Software-Tools-Pascal-Brian-Kernighan/dp/0201103427/
• Personal Pascal for the Atari ST
• • https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Pascal-Atari-1040-Version/dp/B000Q9VAOU
  • https://www.atarimagazines.com/v5n1/pascalandmodula2.html

Upcoming Shows

• July 24-25, KansasFest - https://www.kansasfest.org/ (virtual) cost $20 to register
• August 1-2, VCF West, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/ - going virtual
• Aug. 20 - Aug. 23, 2020, Fujiama, Lengenfeld, Germany - http://abbuc.de/~atarixle/fuji/2020/
• September 12-13, VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - http://vcfmw.org/
• October 10 - 12, VCF East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/ NOTE: You can order a t-shirt to support the VCF events at http://vcfed.org/wp/t-shirts/ for $20 + shipping
• October 24, Chicago TI International World Faire, Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/
• December ?, World of Commodore, Mississauga (Toronto), Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/

The BBC Micro: History

Hello, everyone, and welcome to episode 98 of the Floppy Days Podcast for April, 2020!

I hope everyone is staying safe in these days of isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic. One day we'll look back at this as a strange time in all our lives.

Again, for the podcast, we are finishing up the tail-end of the year 1981 in the personal computer timeline and the primary topic of this and the next couple of podcasts will be the BBC Micro. I talked with Steve Furber, one of the primary developers of the Beeb, in the last episode concerning his part in and thoughts about those heady times. In this episode I'm going to cover a more general history of the BBC Micro to give everyone a view of why the machine was developed and its huge impact on personal and educational computer history, especially in the UK. For the UK listeners, you'll likely be very familiar with the Beeb's history. For the US listeners, and listeners in other parts of the world, you may be less familiar with the story. I know that until I dove into the research for this episode, I only had a cursory familiarity with this machine and had no inkling of its true place in computer history.

For future episodes, software, emulators, books, Web sites, modern upgrades, etc. will be explored.

I hope you enjoy this short excursion into the history of a machine that I've come to love and respect.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Thoughts and Memories - Richard Broadhurst

• Richard's Games on the Complete BBC Micro Games Archive - http://bbcmicro.co.uk/index.php?rt_R=&rt_B=&rt_M=&rt_P=&rt_U=&rt_W=&rt_L=&search=broadhurst&on_T=on&on_Y=on&on_P=on&on_A=on&on_G=on&on_S=on&on_Z=on&on_C=on&sort=b
• Richard's Games Videos on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1eiw5ttGL3ZagVI0c_vSe19KNALTwuXX

New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To

• Fusion magazines - https://fusionretrobooks.com/
• Erebus - Oric Atmos SD Interface - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Erebus-Oric-Atmos-sd-card-flash-cart-Oric1-/174120579582
• Home Computer Course and Home Computer Advanced Course magazines
• • https://archive.org/details/The_Home_Computer_Course
  • https://archive.org/details/The_Home_Computer_Advanced_Course_01/
• Spectrum DIV/MMC Future - https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/shop/sinclair/divmmcfuture.html
• HP85Disk project - https://www.tindie.com/products/hp85disk/hp85disk-disk-emulator-for-hp85-series-computers/
• BBC Micro formatted CF card and ROM - http://www.retroclinic.com/

Upcoming Shows

• After VCF PNW 2020 was cancelled in March, an individual allowed exhibitors to post their own videos to this website - http://www.retrofair2020.com/
• CoCoTALK! hosted a live, virtual CoCoFEST! Saturday April 18th. You can view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4qkRI1JyqU&feature=youtu.be
• July 10 - 12, VCF Southeast, in conjunction with Southern Fried Gaming Expo in Atlanta, GA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/
• July 24-25, KansasFest - https://www.kansasfest.org/ (virtual) cost $20, expect to open registration on April 30th
• August 1-2, VCF West, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/
• Fri, Aug 14, 2020 – Sun, Aug 16, 2020, Portland Retro Gaming Expo, Portland OR - https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/ CANCELLED
• Aug. 20 - Aug. 23, 2020, Fujiama, Lengenfeld, Germany - http://abbuc.de/~atarixle/fuji/2020/
• September 12-13, VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - http://vcfmw.org/
• October 10 - 12, VCF East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/
• • NOTE: You can order a t-shirt to support the VCF events at http://vcfed.org/wp/t-shirts/ for $20 + shipping
• October 24, Chicago TI International World Faire, Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/
• December ?, World of Commodore, Mississauga (Toronto), Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/

References

• There is a docudrama "Micro Men" about the early 80s and winning the joint government/BBC contract to produce a computer that would be the focus of the initiative.
• 78 page PDF by Tilly Blyth of the Science Museum: "The legacy of the BBC Micro - effecting change in the UK's cultures of computing"
• "Now the Chips are Down: The BBC Micro (Platform Studies)" by Alison Gazzard - https://amzn.to/2yLnYdf

The BBC Micro - Interview with Steve Furber

Hi, everyone, and welcome to episode 97 for February 2020 of the Floppy Days Podcast.

This episode kicks off a series of episodes on one of the iconic British machines that was so important to the home computer revolution: The BBC Micro. This machine has an amazing history and continues to have a very large following among vintage computer enthusiasts. What better way to start off this series than by beginning with an interview with someone who was right on the front lines in the development of the machine. Those of you who aren't familiar with Steve Furber will be much more familiar after listening to the interview that I was able to get with him for this show. Steve worked at Acorn Computers in the decade of the 1980's where he was the principal designer of the BBC Micro and the ARM microprocessor. I'm very honored to have been able to talk with Steve for about 50 minutes and am elated that I'm able to bring this interview to you this month.

Next month, we'll kick off some episodes to cover all of the usual topics on the Beeb (as it's affectionately called), such as its history in depth, tech specs, modern upgrades, Web sites and a ton of other information about this machine.

Before we jump into the interview, I'm a bit behind in letting you know about any new acquisitions I've managed to get for the hobby and any hobby-related things I've been working on, so I'll try to do some catch-up there.

Please enjoy the show and let me know what you thought of it.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• Juiced.GS - https://juiced.gs/
• SDrive MAX 810 case, Gavin at Vintage Computer Center - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product/atari-810-sdrive-max
• The SDrive MAX daughterboard and basic case idea are thanks to the great work of Steve Boswell - atari8bit.net
• TRS-80 PC3 LCD - Robert Baruch - https://www.tindie.com/products/halfbakedmaker/lcd-replacement-for-trs-80-pc-3-sharp-pc-125x/
• Incognito for Atari 800 - https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=275
• BBC Micro CF formatted card and ROM - http://www.retroclinic.com/
• BBC Micro single joystick adapter - https://www.ebay.com/itm/283745815116?ViewItem=&item=283745815116
• Astra 1620 dual disk drive for Atari 8-bit - http://gury.atari8.info/hardware/162.php
• "Adventures with the Atari" by Jack B. Hardy - https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-adventures-with-the-atari
• "Atari Pilot for Beginners" by Jim Conlan and Tracy Deliman - https://archive.org/details/Atari_Pilot_For_Beginners/mode/2up
• C64 Maxi - https://retrogames.biz/thec64

Upcoming Shows

• March 21-22, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest, Living Computer:Museum+Labs in Seattle,Washington - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-pacific-northwest
• March 21, Indy Vintage Computer Club Expo, Camby, IN - https://www.facebook.com/events/188334755647918/
• April 18-19, 2020, CoCoFest, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest
• April 24-26, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east
• July 21 - July 26, 202, KansasFest, Kansas City, MO - https://www.kansasfest.org/
• Fri, Aug 14, 2020 – Sun, Aug 16, 2020, Portland Retro Gaming Expo, Portland OR - https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/
• Aug. 20 - Aug. 23, 2020, Fujiama, Lengenfeld, Germany - http://abbuc.de/~atarixle/fuji/2020/
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/

Feedback

• "Micro Men" (movie) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1459467/
• The Home Computer Course (magazine) - https://archive.org/details/TheHomeComputerCourse

Interview with Norbert Kehrer, Flashx20

Hello, and happy 2020 to all the listeners out there. As the final episode of 2019 I'm bringing to you a bonus show on the Epson HX-20. I was able to get an interview with a gentleman who has developed a terrific piece of software that qualifies as a modern upgrade for the HX-20, called flashx20. That gentleman is Mr. Norbert Kehrer and he was kind enough to talk with me about his software and how it's used. I think you'll find it interesting, especially if you have a machine and can give his software a whirl.

Next month I will begin a series of episodes on one of the groundbreaking machines in the UK, the BBC Micro. I haven't decided yet how many episodes there will be, but I was able to get an interview with an early computer pioneer involved with the development of the BBC Micro, so I intend to be as thorough as possible in the coverage of the machine. Stay tuned for more on that.

For this episode, I will talk a bit about my new vintage computer acquisitions and what I've been up to, as well as the usual news about upcoming vintage computer shows and a bit of feedback.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• Atari: A Visual History by Darren Doyle - https://www.greyfoxbooks.com/
• MagPi magazine issue #88 - Retro Computing with Raspberry PI 4 - https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/
• BBC Micro Joystick Adapter - https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Acorn-BBC-Micro-Dual-Double-Atari-Amiga-Joystick-Adapter-715/124010566212
• Compact Flash Adapter for the BBC Micro - http://www.retroclinic.com/

Upcoming Shows

• March 21-22, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest, Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle,Washington - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-pacific-northwest
• April 18-19, 2020, CoCoFest, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest
• April 24-26, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/

Interview with Norbert Kehrer

• Norbert's Emulators - http://members.aon.at/nkehrer/flashx20.html

The Epson HX-20, Part 2, With Earl Evans

Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 95 of the Floppy Days Podcast for November, 2019, where once again this month (in Part 2) we will continue talking about one of the world's first portable computers: The Epson HX-20.

I'm extremely happy to again have my good friend, and vintage computer podcast legend, Mr. Earl Evans, as my co-host for this episode.

It turned out we had so much material to cover that I ended up breaking this topic into 2 parts. Last month was part 1, where Earl and I covered HX-20 history, tech specs, and peripherals. This month will be part 2, in which Earl and I will continue coverage by discussing how to use the machine, emulators, software, ads and appearances, modern upgrades, Web sites and more. In addition, I will include an interview with a gentleman who has done recent work around the HX-20 in the area of emulation, Mr. Pontus Rodling.

First, however, I will spend a few minutes talking about my recent acquisitions in the vintage computing space and what I've been up to, then I'll cover upcoming shows.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Commercial

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnX7d0Ty9A4

New Acquisitions

• book "The BBC Micro an expert guide" by Mike James - https://www.amazon.com/B-C-Micro-Expert-Guide/dp/0003831175
• SDrive Max from Vintage Computer Center (810) for Atari 8-bit - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com/product/atari-810-sdrive-max
• Incognito for Atari 800 - https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=275
• CPC 464 RGB-to-SCART cable - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amstrad-CPC-464-6128-High-Quality-POWERED-RGB-Scart-Cable-TV-Video-Lead/261898189777 - Retro Computer Shack
• CPC M4 upgrade - http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/M4_Board

Upcoming Shows

• Dec 7, 2019, World of Commodore 2019, hosted by the Toronto PET Users Group (TPUG) at the Admiral Inn Mississauga - https://www.tpug.ca/…/09/announcement-world-of-commodore-2…/
• March 21-22, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest, Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle,Washington - http://vcfed.org/…/vintage-computer-festival-pacific-north…/
• April 18-19, 2020, CoCoFest, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
• April 24-26, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/…/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com

Ads and Appearances

• http://starringthecomputer.com/computer.html?c=171
• Epson announced the HX-20 to the world in this famous double page ad spread from 1982. Its compact size is obviously the big selling point here - http://www.ganjatron.net/retrocomputing/epson-hx20/creativecomp0183-2a.jpg
• another four page ad from Epson UK. Epson apparently wanted to make it clear that only they had the foresight to devise such a compact computing platform. As depicted in the ad, the HX-20 is equally at home in the office, on the plane, in a power station and at home. - http://www.ganjatron.net/retrocomputing/epson-hx20/practicalcomputing128202a.jpg

Modern Upgrades

• MH-20 by Martin Hepperle - https://www.mh-aerotools.de/hp/hx-20/MH-20-Display-Controller.zip
• Flashx20 by Norbert Kehrer - http://members.aon.at/nkehrer/flashx20.html

Emulators

• "eHC-20"-EPSON HC-20 / HX-20 emulator for Win32 (Toshiya Takeda) - http://takeda-toshiya.my.coocan.jp/
• M.A.M.E. - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator / MAME 0.184 ROMs - https://edgeemu.net/details-25542.htm
• HXEmu by Pontus Rodling - https://frigolit.net/projects/hxemu/

Community

• Facebook
• • https://www.facebook.com/groups/405903130000150/
• Forums
• • AtariAge - https://atariage.com/forums/search/?q=epson%20hx-20
  • https://stardot.org.uk/forums/index.php

Web Sites

• An HX-20 Enthusiast Site - Julian Ward - https://web.archive.org/web/20161023223930/http://classway.com/hx20/index.html - contains FAQ, memory map, description of utilities (on WayBackMachine)
• Epson HX-20 Programs - Courtney McFarren - http://www.geocities.ws/abcmcfarren/hx20/hx20.htm - software downloads (BASIC listings), memory map, memory dump, information on interfacing with the HX-20
• Review in Byte Magazine Volume 8, Number 9 - https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-09/1983_09_BYTE_08-09_Portable_Computers_in_Depth#page/n201/mode/2up - compares HX-20 and TI CC-40
• GanjaTron's site - http://www.ganjatron.net/retrocomputing/epson-hx20/index.html - nice description of the HX-20
• Epson HX-20 Review in Creative Computing by David Ahl - https://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n3/101_Epson_HX20_computer.php
• Epson HX-20 Tips and Tricks by Martin Hepperle - https://www.mh-aerotools.de/hp/hx-20/Epson%20HX-20%20-%20Tips-Tricks.pdf
• TV ad for the HX-20 (1982) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnX7d0Ty9A4
• Wickensonline - information from sites now only on the Wayback Machine (archive.org) - https://web.archive.org/web/20160323052226/http://www.wickensonline.co.uk/hx-20/index.html
• Epson HX-20 Operations Manual (from the Epson support site) - https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/hx20__/hx20__u1.pdf
• HX-20 page at Epson - https://global.epson.com/company/corporate_history/milestone_products/13_hx20.html
• PDF documentation for the Epson HX-20 (Tech Ref, BASIC Ref, etc.) - http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/hx20/doc/index.html
• HXTAPE software at SourceForge - http://hxtape.sourceforge.net/ - HXTape is a suite of small programs designed to read and write Epson HX-20 tapes using a sound card under Linux. Additionally, it can be used as a simple means of direct data transfer between a PC and an HX-20, by connecting the two using an ordinary audio cable.
• The Epson HX-20: As seen in Tezza's classic computer collection - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Esopw_KK8&app=desktop
• The World's First Laptop - Epson HX-20 / HC-20 by RetroManCave - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-F_hL1bZsw
• "Japanese portable has real staying power" From: PRACTICAL COMPUTING October 1982 page 40 - http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/hx20/pc198210.html
• Yet another computer museum - The Epson HX-20 - http://electrickery.xs4all.nl/comp/hx20/

References

• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_HX-20

The Epson HX-20 Part 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 94 of the Floppy Days Podcast for October, 2019, where this month we will be talking about one of the world's first portable computers: The Epson HX-20. Thank you, Terry Stewart, for your thoughts about the HX-20 to lead off the show. For those that want more information from Terry, check out his Website and Youtube channel where he has a terrific video on the HX-20, as well as lots of information on other vintage computers.

I'm extremely happy to announce that my good friend, and one of the godfathers of vintage computer podcast, Mr. Earl Evans, will be my co-host for this topic. It's always a thrill to have Earl join me on this podcast as he and his Retrobits podcast were the inspiration for Floppy Days. It turned out that Earl not only knows the gentleman I interviewed last month, Chris Rutkowski, but he also used to work for Epson and supported the HX-20 and its successor the PX-8. He also owns a couple of machines. As a result, Earl is able to provide great insights into the HX-20 and is a perfect color commentator for this topic. I know you'll enjoy Earl's contributions to this show.

It turned out we have so much material to cover that I'm breaking this topic into 2 parts. This month will be part 1, and Earl and I will cover HX-20 history, tech specs, and peripherals. Next month will be part 2, in which Earl and I will continue coverage by discussing how to use the machine, emulators, software, ads and appearances, modern upgrades, Web sites and more. In addition, I was able to get interviews with a couple of gentlemen who have done recent work around the HX-20 in the areas of emulation and modern upgrades.

So, we have a lot to cover and a short time to get there!

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To

• Atari 8-bit modern power supplies and video cables from Corey Koltz - https://www.8bitclassics.com/
• Nu-Brick power supplies (Kevin Ottum) - Facebook
• Tandy PC-1 LCDs by Robert Baruch - https://www.tindie.com/products/halfbakedmaker/lcd-replacement-for-trs-80-pc-1-sharp-pc-1211/
• Commodore The Amiga Years by Brian Bagnall - https://amzn.to/2WocDrz
• Electronic Dreams by Tom Lean - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Dreams-Britain-Learned-Computer/dp/1472918339
• 101 Programming Tips for the TI99 by Len Turner - https://amzn.to/2q1ylpe
• TI's Compute Collection Vol. I by Compute - https://amzn.to/31WpG4F
• Micro Kids: An 80s Adventure with ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and more by Gary Plowman - https://amzn.to/2NnerNl
• Atari Projects by Jason Moore - http://www.lulu.com/shop/jason-moore/atari-projects/paperback/product-24223087.html
• SDrive Max cases (1050 and 810) from Steve Boswell - https://atari8bit.net/sdrive-max-cases/

Upcoming Shows (https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows)

• Nov 2, 2019, Chicago TI International World's Faire, Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/
• Dec 7, 2019, World of Commodore 2019, hosted by the Toronto PET Users Group (TPUG) at the Admiral Inn Mississauga - https://www.tpug.ca/2019/09/announcement-world-of-commodore-2019
• March 21 & 22, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest, Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle,Washington - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-pacific-northwest
• April 24-26, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com

Interview with Chris Rutkowski, Epson QX10 & ValDocs

Hello and welcome to episode 93 of the Floppy Days Podcast. We're still in the year 1981 for computer introductions and next up on the docket is the venerable Epson HX-20, oft-considered the very first laptop computer. It spawned an entire series of laptop computers from Epson, such as the PX-8 and QX-10.

In this episode, I have an interview with Mr. Chris Rutkowski. Chris worked for or at Epson during the days of the HX-20 and the other machines. Although Chris didn't work directly on the HX-20, as he was more focused on the QX-10 and software for it (such as ValDocs), Chris has a great perspective on what it was like to work at Epson at that time.

In the next episode I will then talk in detail about the HX-20, including the usual topics of history, specs, software, magazines, ads, Web sites, emulators and more.

After talking with Chris, I was very impressed with the work that he did and impact that he made on the fledgling microcomputer industry. Not only did he work on the design of the QX-10, Chris came up with the idea for the VALDOCS software for the QX-10 that included the HASCI keyboard (Human Application Standard Computer Interface) while at Rising Star Industries.

I hope you enjoy this interview!

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• AVG cart for Atari 8-bit - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/278212-avgcart/
• Faster Than Light: Atari ST - https://www.amazon.com/Faster-Than-Light-16-Bit-Revolution/dp/1732355215 by Jamie Lendino
• Endless Loop: The History of the BASIC Programming Language (book) by Mark Jones Lorenzo - https://www.amazon.com/Endless-Loop-Programming-All-purpose-Instruction/dp/1974277070
• ZX Spectrum +2 RGB to SCART cable - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260949446667
• Run/Stop-Restore (book) by Leonard Roach - https://www.amazon.com/Run-Stop-Restore-Anniversary-Lenard-Roach/dp/1456719246

Upcoming Shows

• Sep 7-8, Retro Computer Festival 2019, The Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, UK - http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/53612/Retro-Computer-Festival-2019-7th-8th-September/
• Sep 14, Atari Party East, basement of Bill Lange in Somerset, NJ - https://www.facebook.com/groups/281252672436874/
• Sep 14-15, VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - http://vcfmw.org/
• Sep 21-22, Acorn World Exhibition 2019, The Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, UK - http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/54006/Acorn-World-Exhibition-2019-21st-22nd-September-2019/
• Sep 27-29, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com
• Oct 18-20, Portland Retro Gaming Expo - http://www.retrogamingexpo.com
• Nov 2, Chicago TI International World's Faire, Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/

Interview with Chris Rutkowski

• VCF Pacific Northwest 2019 - Chris Rutkowski, "The birth of the Business PC – how volatile markets evolve" - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/archives-show-summaries/vcf-pnw-archives/vcf-pnw-2019/
• October '82 Byte - p.291 An introduction to the Human Applications Standard Computer Interface, Part 1: Theory and Principles by Chris Rutkowski - https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1982-10/page/n289
• November '82 Byte - p.379 An Introduction to the Human Applications Standard Computer Interface, Part 2: Implementing the HASCI Concept by Chris Rutkowski - https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1982-11/page/n403
• "A Gathering of Magicians," from the CBC Television series "Man Alive" (1984) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heRhyUp7dTE

Hello, welcome to Floppy Days Podcast #92, coming to you in July, 2019. This month, I'm bringing to you an interview I've had in my backlog for almost 2 years now. Thank goodness, most of the information on Floppy Days is timeless, so the interview is just as relevant today as it was then. Anyway, I'm very happy to present an interview with Mr. Dave Lagerquist, who was the editor of both the CLOAD cassette magazine, which was produced for the TRS-80 Model I and Model III, and Chromasette cassette magazine, which was produced for the Tandy Color Computer.

As usual, I will cover a few new acquisitions, a run-down of upcoming shows and other news, a piece of feedback, and then we'll get right into the meat of the interview.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• C64 mini - https://www.amazon.com/C64-Mini-not-machine-specific/dp/B07GMV1X1K
• Atari 400/800 Programmer's Guide Poster by Steve Boswell - https://www.redbubble.com/people/choccyhobnob/works/39504539-basic-programmers-guide-from-1981?asc=u&c=1128814-wall-art&p=poster&ref=work_collections_grid
• "Vintage Commodore 128 Personal Computer Handbook: 2019 Survival Edition" by Margaret G Morabito - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vintage+commodore+128+personal+computer+handbook+2019&crid=1158ZFH5M3RKJ
• C64/128 composite/s-video cable - http://www.8bitclassics.com
• C64/128 composite/s-video to Commodore 1702 monitor cable - http://www.8bitclassics.com
• Atari USB power supply - https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/32717

News

• Atari Projects - covering Floppy Days - http://atariprojects.org/2019/06/22/listen-to-the-floppy-days-podcast-1-4-hours
• vintage computer shows Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/

Upcoming Shows

• KansasFest, July 15-21, 2019, Kansas City, MO - https://www.kansasfest.org/
• VCF West, Aug 3-4, Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, California - http://vcfed.org/…/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/
• Commodore Vegas Expo, August 10-11, Plaza Hotel & Casino, Desert Wind Salon, 1 Main Street in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. - http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex
• Fujiama 2019 - Monday, August 26, 2019 to Sunday Sep. 1, 2019 (ONE WHOLE WEEK!). Fujiama 2019 will be held at the Schützenhaus, Lengenfeld, Germany. http://www.abbuc.de/~atarixle/fuji/
• VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - Sep. 14-15, 2019 - http://vcfmw.org/
• Tandy Assembly - Springfield, OH, Sep. 27-29, 2019 - http://www.tandyassembly.com
• Portland Retro Gaming Expo Oct 18-20 http://www.retrogamingexpo.com
• Chicago TI International World's Faire - Nov 2, 2019 - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/ - The 37th annual Chicago TI International World Faire will take place on the weekend of November 2, 2019, in Evanston, IL

Feedback

• Anthony Beckett - www.thepcmuseum.com
• Andy Collins - YouTube video of prototype of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum donated to The Centre for Computing History by John and Kate Grant of Nine Tile Ltd. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPEclMvAA3A&t=340s

Interview

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromasette
• https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182224/games_from_the_trash_the_history_.php
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disk_magazines#C

The Osborne 1 with Lee Felsenstein

Welcome to episode 91 of the Floppy Days Podcast for May, 2019.

In the timeline for personal computer introductions, we are now in the year 1981. For this episode we are going to be talking about the Osborne 1.

The Osborne 1 was the first commercially successful portable microcomputer, released on April 3, 1981 by Osborne Computer Corporation (OCC). It was powered by the Z80 CPU at a blazing 4MHz, weighed 24.5 lb, cost US$1,795, and ran the CP/M operating system. It was powered from a wall socket, as it had no on-board battery, but is a portable device since it can be hand-carried when packed. The computer shipped with a large bundle of software that was almost equivalent in value to the machine itself.

The Osborne 1 was the brain child of Adam Osborne and was brilliantly engineered by Lee Felsenstein. So, who better to have help me talk about the machine than Lee Felsenstein himself! For this show, we're going to spend some time with Lee talking about the history surrounding the Osborne 1. Finally, Lee will leave us and I will cover the usual computer topics such as tech specs, emulators, Web sites, and more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To

• VCF Southeast April 27, 28, Roswell, GA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/
• VCF East May 3-5, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/
• TI-95 Stats Library - https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instrument-Statistics-Guidebook-Cartridge/dp/B00PHOS6SW
• Oric Atmos cassette cable - https://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIC-1-ORIC-ATMOS-CASSETTE-TAPE-RECORDER-CABLE-LEADS/321775032876
• Atari 800 S-video cable - https://www.8bitclassics.com/shop/computers/atari-8-bit-computer/atari-xlxe-5-pin-din-to-s-video-composite-av-cable/
• Nunchuk 64 - https://github.com/djtulan/nunchuk64

Upcoming Shows

• June 8-9 Pacific Commodore Expo NW (PaCommEx) at The Living Computers: Museum + Labs, Seattle, Washington - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex, discussion is on the forum at https://www.commodore.ca/forum/viewforum.php?f=14
• KansasFest, July 15-21, 2019, Kansas City, MO - https://www.kansasfest.org/
• VCF West, Aug 3-4, Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, California - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/
• Fujiama 2019 - Monday, August 26, 2019 to Sunday Sep. 1, 2019 (ONE WHOLE WEEK. Fujiama 2019 will be held at the Schützenhaus, Lengenfeld, Germany. Visit atarixle's Fujiama page, Krupkaj's parties photos or mathy meetings page.
• VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - Sep. 14-15, 2019 - http://vcfmw.org/
• Tandy Assembly - Springfield, OH, Sep. 28-29, 2019 - http://www.tandyassembly.com
• Portland Retro Gaming Expo Oct 18-20 http://www.retrogamingexpo.com
• Chicago TI International World's Faire - Nov 2, 2019 - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/ - The 37th annual Chicago TI International World Faire will take place on the weekend of November 2, 2019, in Evanston, IL

Feedback

• HT1080Z, the Hungarian School Computer - http://zimix.hu/ht1080z-the-hungarian-school-computer/

Popular Magazines/Newsletters

• Portable Companion - http://www.vintage-computer.com/portablecompanion.shtml (Bill Degnan)

The entire run is on archive.org - https://archive.org/details/theportablecompanion

Also at Yesterbits - https://yesterbits.com/scans/the-portable-companion-magazine/ (Paul Hagstrom)

Books/Manuals

• in 1984, Adam Osborne and computer industry author and columnist John C. Dvorak coauthored a book about the experience, from Adam Osborne's point of view - Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of the Osborne Computer Corporation.
• Using the Osborne 1 computer Paperback – 1983 by T. G Lewis - https://www.amazon.com/Using-Osborne-computer-T-Lewis/dp/083598141X
• Technical manual - http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/osborne/o1techm.pdf
• User's Reference Guide - http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/osborne/osborne1/Osborne_1_Users_Reference_Guide_1981.pdf
• Field Service Manual - http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/osborne/2F00040-00_Service2ndEdition_1983.pdf
• Osborne CP/M User Guide by Thom Hogan - https://archive.org/details/osborne-cpm-users-guide_2nd-ed/page/n45

Ads and Appearances

• EZ Money (2005)
• Maniac - Season 1 (2018)

User Groups

• FOG info at bitsavers.org - http://bitsavers.org/bits/Users_Groups/FOG/
• FOGhorn collection at Computer History Museum - https://www.computerhistory.org/search/?q=foghorn

Modern Upgrades

• If you really want to replace the drives, there are several designs, kits or ready to use flash-to-Shugart replacements available. An example is the Floppyflash.
• HxC Floppy Emulators supported machines/compatibility list - https://hxc2001.com/download/floppy_drive_emulator/support.htm where it lists the Osborne 1
• Video showing GoTek floppy emulator in Osborne 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZdQVYXK2PM
• Osborne 1 "Portable" Computer Reborn with a Raspberry Pi - https://blog.hackster.io/osborne-1-portable-computer-reborn-with-a-raspberry-pi-51fa82682f3a

Emulation

• Z80-CP/M emulator - http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/sim/z80mu52b.zip
• Z80-CP/M simulator - boots CP/M - http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/sim/myz80cpm.zip
• For Rasperry Pi you need to download the CP/M Emulator software https://github.com/jhallen/cpm
• http://www.archive.org in-browser emulation
• MAME - https://www.mamedev.org/

Community

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/690000664701397/
• Forums
• • AtariAge - in the Classic Computers section - http://atariage.com/forums/forum/116-classic-computing/

Current Web Sites

• Osborne Computer Corporation. David H. Ahl. - CREATIVE COMPUTING VOL. 10, NO. 3 / MARCH 1984 / PAGE 24 - https://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n3/24_Osborne_Comptuer_Corporat.php
• Osborne! The machine, the man, and the dawn of the portable computing revolution. By Harry McCracken
• Video of Osborne 1 computer on YouTube by David Larsen
• The Osborne 1. As seen in Tezza's classic computer collection - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_FufKMd-lU
• Osborne 1 (1981) – when the personal computer became portable - By RICCARDO BIANCHINI - 2018-08-05 https://www.inexhibit.com/case-studies/osborne-1-1981-when-the-personal-computer-became-portable/
• Osborne 1 - Complete History of the Osborne 1 Computer - https://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Personal/Osborne.html
• Dave's Old Computers - Osborne - http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/osborne/index.htm
• Osborne 1 3D Model - https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/osborne-1-67f8eafe7a3a4372bde130f31a6b1776
• Retrocomputing Archive - http://www.retroarchive.org/maslin/disks/osborne/index.html
• Transferring files to the Osborne 1 - http://www.toniwestbrook.com/archives/80
• The Computer Chronicles - Computer Entrepreneurs (1984) - https://archive.org/details/Computer1984_5
• VCF1 - Lee Felsenstein and Bob Marsh (1997) - https://archive.org/details/VCF1-LeeFelsensteinAndBobMarsh
• TOSEC Collection at Archive.org - https://archive.org/details/Osborne_OSBORNE_1_and_Executive_TOSEC_2012_04_23

References

• https://www.patreon.com/lfelsenstein
• Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine - https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Valley-Making-Personal-Computer/dp/0071358927
• Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer - https://www.amazon.com/Stan-Veits-History-Personal-Computer/dp/1566640237 by Stan Veit

Episode 90 - Interview with Lee Felsenstein (Osborne 1)

Welcome to episode 90 of the Floppy Days Podcast for April, 2019.

In the timeline for personal computer introductions, we are now in the year 1981. For this episode, and actually the next couple as well, we are going to be talking about the Osborne 1.

The Osborne 1 was the first commercially successful portable microcomputer, released on April 3, 1981 by Osborne Computer Corporation. It was powered by the Z80 CPU, weighed 24.5 lb, cost US$1,795, and ran the CP/M operating system. It was powered from a wall socket, as it had no on-board battery, but is a portable device since it can be hand-carried when packed. The computer shipped with a large bundle of software that was almost equivalent in value to the machine itself.

The Osborne 1 was the brain child of Adam Osborne and was brilliantly engineered by Lee Felsenstein. So, who better to have help me talk about the machine than Lee Felsenstein himself. To kick off this series, we're going to spend some time with Lee talking about his time before and after the Osborne 1. And then in the next show we will talk about the history surrounding the Osborne 1 itself. Finally, we will cover the usual computer topics such as tech specs, emulators, Web sites, and more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• BBC Micro repair/accessories - Mark Haysman http://www.retroclinic.com
• Pi Co-processor for BBC Micro - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACORN-BBC-MASTER-128-INTERNAL-RASPBERRY-PI-MULTI-CORE-CO-PROCESSOR-KIT/264220089777
• ZX Spectrum +2A RGB to SCART cable - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sinclair-ZX-Spectrum-3-2A-2B-High-Quality-RGB-Scart-Video-Cable-TV-Lead/260830045368
• VIDHD - To order VidHD boards ($135 USD + S/H), email [email protected] and include the desired quantity and shipping address.
• VIDHD video - https://youtu.be/ehQpC2-NEBM
• Exidy Sorcerer Cassette software in WAV format from Terry Stewart - https://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2017-01-23-software-for-real-sorcerers.htm

Upcoming Shows

• the Commodore Los Angeles Super Show (CLASS)! April 27-28, Toolbox LA (https://toolbox.la) Chatsworth, California - The CLASS website is on-line at http://www.portcommodore.com/class and discussion of CLASS is in the shared forum area with CommVEx at https://www.commodore.ca/forum/viewforum.php?f=6
• VCFSE 7.0 is scheduled for April 27, 28, Roswell, GA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/
• VCF East May 3-5, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/
• June 8-9 Pacific Commodore Expo NW (PaCommEx) at The Living Computers: Museum + Labs, Seattle, Washington - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex, discussion is on the forum at https://www.commodore.ca/forum/viewforum.php?f=14
• KansasFest, July 15-21, 2019, Kansas City, MO - https://www.kansasfest.org/
• VCF West, Aug 3-4, Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, California - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west/
• Fujiama 2019 - Monday, August 26, 2019 to Sunday Sep. 1, 2019 (ONE WHOLE WEEK) - Schützenhaus, Lengenfeld, Germany. Visit atarixle's Fujiama page, Krupkaj's parties photos or mathy meetings page.
• VCF Midwest, Elmhurst, IL - Sep. 14-15, 2019 - http://vcfmw.org/
• Tandy Assembly - Springfield, OH, Sep. 28-29, 2019 - http://www.tandyassembly.com
• Portland Retro Gaming Expo Oct 18-20 http://www.retrogamingexpo.com
• Chicago TI International World's Faire - Nov 2, 2019 - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/ - Evanston, IL

Lee Felsenstein Interview

• http://www.leefelsenstein.com/
• https://www.patreon.com/lfelsenstein