Retro Computing Roundtable

By Retro Computing RoundtableNews Tech News

Retro Computing Roundtable episodes

February 04, 2022RCR Episode 250: Computing Machinery and Intelligence
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston
Topic: Computing Machinery and Intelligence
It’s been 72 years since the year Turing published the paper that outlined the Turing test. So: Let’s talk about interactions we’ve had relating to artificial intelligence in some form or another.
Topic/Feedback links:
RetroMagazine issue 12, English version
Total Replay booting from the DigitalOcean cloud on an Apple II with FujiNet
Commodore Computer Museum Kickstarter (NZ)
Aroma Disc
Sounds and Scents of the Holiday season
Aroma Disc player, unopened
Aroma Disc player, unpacked
Retro Computing News:
How The US Census Led to the First Data Processing Company
Leonard Tramiel recalls Bill Gates at a trade show
See also: WAIT 6502, 10 and other easter eggs
Nostalgic Computing Center
JavaScript version of Prince of Persia runs on Apple Watch
PrinceJS
Junk in the PC DOS 1.1 boot sector (Michal Necasek)
Junk in the PC DOS 1.1 boot sector (The Starman)
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
Atari 65xe
Aroma Disc
DEC laptop
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
MeowToast 1/2AA battery replacements
Auction Picks:
Carrington:
1988 West Coast Computer Faire program
Make friends with: West Coast Computer Faire button
Earl:
Digital Rainbow PC100-B2
Paul:
Versawriter
A-1 with or without Bernie’s mods
See also: UncleBernie on applefritter
QX-10/16 SemiDisk RAM card with battery backup
QX-10/16 ComFiler hard drive
QX-10/16 hard drive card PCB to build
What you call your game when all the good game names are already taken
See also: Metal band name generator
Roguelike to perhaps the greatest degree
Atari 65xe painted black, with two AtariMax cartridges (originally listed at $250)
Closing discussion links:
Like a DOS podcast
Meat stylus
DOS Nostalgia Podcast
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
2 hr 4 min
January 31, 2022RCR Episode 249: 2020 also
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, Michael Mulhern, and Blake Patterson
Topic: 2020 also
We enter the third year of 2020. Yet another New Year’s, yet another opportunity to make the New Year’s resolution joke.
Topic/Feedback links:
Mega II project (single chip Apple II)
Mega II project progress
Acorn – a world in pixels (extended edition)
HP 9845 part 2 (Beige-o-Vision)
See also: HP 9845 part 1 (Beige-o-Vision)
Nichrome project
Retro Computing News:
Appreciating the physicality of floppies
How many Commodore 64s were sold, really?
The Forgotten History of the Blinking Cursor
See also: Blinking cursor turns 54, hardly anyone notices
See also: Retrocomputing forum thread re: blinking cursor
Yellowstone is a go
Virtual BBC Micro
Virtual BBC Micro description
See also: Zero Page
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
Are you keeping up with the Commodore
Prime Computer
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
Beagle Bros floppy warnings mug
See also: Penguin’s version
“ours were better” reddit thread
Auction Picks:
Blake:
Philips Videopac G7400 Game Console
See also: Philips Videopac G7400
See also: Magnavox Odyssey 2
See also: Magnavox Odyssey
See also: National Museum of American History Exhibit – Places of Invention
Matra Alice 8000 PROTOTYPE ULTRA RARE Number 24
See also: Matra Alice 8000 (Rare and Old Computers)
See also: Matra Alice 8000 (AtariAge thread)
Earl:
6 Vintage BASIC Coding Form Pads 40 plus pages each
Digital DEC STARION 960 Intel Pentium 166MHz 16MB RAM Vintage Computer
Michael:
ADB Black Vintage Rare Macintosh TV M2706 computer
Paul:
PR1ME Computer ashtray
Pumpkin spice Silent 700
See also: Regular Silent 700
ImageWriter II with sheet feeder
Closing discussion links:
Pits of Death
ScanTailor Advanced OS X
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
2 hr 27 min
January 19, 2022RCR Episode 248: So long, 2021
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston
Topic: So long, 2021
At the tail end of 2021, we talk about our retrocomputing-based adventures during the year, with a little bit of a look ahead at what might come after.
Topic/Feedback links:
Drop /// Inches, episode #11 (re: visiting Stanford archives)
Mac networks game spreadsheet
Retro Computing News:
The Mac Game of the Year was… Myst
The RMC Cave soft open
Overclocking the Tandy 102
“I made my partner learn DOS in 2021”
Building a new Commodore 1581 disk drive in 2021
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
BurgerTime (Intellivision)
Myst (Japanese, Sunsoft)
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
Piper Computer Kit 3
Auction Picks:
Carrington:
Power Macintosh 8200/120 in original box
TRS-80 CoCo Videotext
Radio Shack tone dialer
Earl:
Heathkit computer (looks like an H89?)
Paul:
Ethernet microdock
PET modem
Jewelled mouse
1977 British Airways Compute-a-Tour
See also: Dick Clark, New Year’s Eve 1977
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
2 hr 2 min
January 13, 2022RCR Episode 247: Computing 24/7
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Blake Patterson
Topic: Computing 24/7
In honor of episode 247, we talk about stuff vaguely related to “all the time.” Mostly we wound up talking about whether we turned our computers off or not.
Topic/Feedback links:
RetroMagazineWorld #11
The World of Commodore 2021 event information
The World of Commodore 2021 video
Python C64 emulator, sort of
Retro Computing News:
Reverse-engineering the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer’s sound chip
TRS-80 PC-1 / Sharp PC-1211 LCD replacement
Beginner’s Guide to the Amiga – Workbench
Beginner’s Guide to the Amiga – Amiga OS tutorial
Crash course to Amiga assembly programming
Santa’s Workout – new C64 Christmas game, from Vector5games (Indie Retro News)
The Pudding Strikes Back (2021 Christmas game, Apple II)
DOLORES double LORES library
Flapple Bird
The Register article on the BBC Micro and Elite
BBC Micro Elite source code deep dive
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
Enterprise 128
DX100 synthesizer
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
THINKING cap
See also: NeitherNet adapter
Auction Picks:
Blake:
Enterprise 128
Apple IIgs Computer
Paul:
TK 2000
COVOX
How to use the C64
See also: Blue Commodore 64
Echo+
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
2 hr 2 min
December 15, 2021RCR Episode 246: Data hoards, musician chords
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Jack Nutting, and Carrington Vanston
Topic: Data hoards and privacy
Retrocomputing collectors often collect retrocomputers, which often have disks or hard drives, which might contain private data. Particularly as computers get recent enough to have hard drives. Particularly particularly in the future when retrocomputers might contain SSD drives.
Topic/Feedback links:
Retro Collectors are Uncovering Hoards of Old Data
Retro Computing News:
Tandy Computer Cassette Recorder models
Fujinet is slowly eating the world. Adaptations for Coleco Adam, C64, and Apple ][ are underway!
Fujinet on Facebook
Intel 4004 turns 50
Intel’s official anniversary page
4004.com
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
BASF (1991)
TRS-80 model 100
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
Circuit Board Coaster – from AQuarterPastEight (Etsy)
Auction Picks:
Carrington:
Factory sealed Apple IIc and peripherals
See also: Sold on eBay: New-in-box Apple II, never opened
Paul:
Intel 4004 commemorative clock (turns 25 this year)
BASF keychain
Joystick with a face
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
1 hr 44 min
December 10, 2021RCR Episode 245: End of line
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Michael Mulhern, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston
Topic: End of line
To the extent that you have physical objects, intellectual properties, accounts that host archives, what kind of plans do you have for when you are (possibly unexpectedly) no longer around? Or, what kind of plans do you plan to have? What kind of considerations are there? Does anyone but you in your local real-life circle know what the stuff is, who to talk to, how to access things?
Topic/Feedback links:
Open Apple #81: Remembering Tony Diaz
Atari 8-bit port of Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia Source Code: Saved (Tony Diaz, KansasFest 2012)
Retro Computing News:
Call For Yellowstone Beta Testers
Apple VideoPad 2 prototype sells at auction
TNMOC, 40th anniversary of the BBC Micro. Nov 30
217: THE VERTICAL PLANE PART 1 (Astonishing Legends podcast)
The 100MHz 6502
MCLFast : Apple II as a shield
’80s software was expensive
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
Polaroid Swinger (1965)
Sinclair calculators at DG Leisure Centre
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
Floppy Disk costume
Auction Picks:
Blake:
Dynex Exerciser DE-5020
See also: Dynex series 600 disk drive manual
CSC Hard Drive Bible 7th edition
See also: Hard Drive Bible 8th edition on archive.org
Carrington:
Commodore 64 on MaxSold
Big Swinger camera
Michael:
NatGeo on CD
Paul:
Multicolored C64 keyboard
See also: Darth Skalmar’s Retro Garage
Apple II series WillMaker
Sinclair Cambridge calculator kit
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
2 hr 18 min
December 09, 2021RCR Episode 244: Lacking Future Relevance
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston
Topic: Lacking future relevance
Sunk time – times you’ve spent learning (or learning how to do) something that has no future relevance. What did you do, what were you THINKING?
Topic/Feedback links:
Foone Turing explores the updated Twitter image posting/processing rules, for a very good reason
The reason
Retro Computing News:
Corecursive: The Original Remove Developer, Paul Lutus
Mountain Hermit Makes ‘Apples’ Sing In Simple English
The Ultimate Commodore 1541 Drive Talk (Hackaday)
The Ultimate Commodore 1541 Drive Talk (YouTube)
The Ultimate Apollo Guidance Computer Talk
The 100 MHz 6502
The 100 MHz 6502 (Hackaday)
Swatch 1984 Revisited
The Source (GitHub, historical source)
Vintage Computer(-related) commercials:
IBM 5100 (First Portable Computer) commercial 1977
Retro Computing Gift Idea:
Lovelace and Babbage board game
Auction Picks:
Carrington:
Apple Super Bowl cushion
Memphis Design mouse pad
Earl:
Atari 400 computer keyboard
Paul:
Edison Voicewriter
Wax cylinders
See also: Edison Voicewriter
Mystery House
Laser 50
Laser 50
Spaceball
ADAM power supply
Topic/Feedback links:
A People’s History of Computing in the United States
The Soul of a New Machine
?Next Without For 006 – SNOBOL
Feedback/Discussion:
@rcrpodcast on Twitter
Vintage Computer Forum
RCR Podcast on Facebook
Throwback Network
Throwback Network on Facebook
Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X
Show audio files hosted by CyberEars
Listen/Download:
1 hr 32 min