The Retrobits Podcast

Welcome to Show 056! This week's Topic: Paper Tape and Punch Cards!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Two Apple II podcasts! Woo hoo! Check out the maiden voyage of A2Unplugged, and don't miss 1 Mhz, the Apple II Podcast, now with four monthly episodes to catch up on! Good stuff...Bought a PX-8, and wish you could word process? New in box Portable Wordstar, Calc and Scheduler can now be purchased from Star Technology. I don't know how many they have, so you might want to check it out soon if you're interested...Enjoy the trailing edge like I do? Then check out the Trailing Edge website, Computing's Last Stand!So you're not one of the lucky dozen or two that has a real Apple I computer. Still, you can have a very nice replica, the Replica 1! According to the website, orders are now being taken for the Replica 1 SE, the latest version from Briel Computers.The ECMA standard for Paper Tape - now, this is some extreme reading...An ASR33 is a spring-loaded thing of beauty - have a look (and check out the videos) at the Online PDP-8 Home Page!Here's the required reading from Wikipedia on Paper Tape and Punch Cards...

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 055! This week's Topic: Retro Mix (A Variety Episode)!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Check out A2Central for info on the recent KansasFest 2006, and all your Apple II needs!Also check out the official KFest site - it's never too early to plan for 2007...Here's a presentation on SymbOS by the creator (Google Video - note that the intro is in Spanish, but the presentation is in English).The History Of Computing project - from 30,000 years ago to today, computing is exciting!ADTPro - the latest incarnation of Apple Disk Transfer - check it out today on their SourceForge project page...

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 054! This week's Topic: The Tandy 100 Portable Computer!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Here's a Bill Gates interview on the Smithsonian Institution website, very interesting reading! The Model 100 BASIC and ROM are some of the last products that Bill Gates programmed himself...Wikipedia's page on the TRS-80 Model 100 line is a good place to start...Follow that up with the old-computer.com page for the Model 100...Then check out Club 100 - an oasis for your Model 100 needs!Want to stay "in the know" for the Model 100? Club 100 has a listserv...Interesting in playing with a Model 100 emulator? VirtualT might be just what you need!

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 053! This week's Topic: The 6502 Microprocessor, Part II.

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Want to see a cool prototype? Here's the Commodore 65 page at the Secret Weapons of Commodore...The Atari Archives site has a few books on Atari 8 bit (w/6502 of course) assembly language programming!Check out Issue #1 of the C=Hacking magazine - more 6502 info that you can shake a stick at.6502 cross-compilation (write it on a PC, run it on your favorite 6502-based 8-bit) can be performed with CC65. Also check out the CA65 macro assembler!The 6502.org site - deep info the 6502, both hardware and software...The Western Design Center - home of the current 6502-based chips and systems!

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 052! This week's Topic: The 6502 Microprocessor, Part I.

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Once again, Wikipedia doesn't dissapoint - check out their info on the 6502 Microprocessor...ClassicCmp is a resource for enthusiasts of classic computer hardware, software, and documentation!New stuff for your CoCo? Have a look at Cloud-9!Sample chapters on MOS Technology and the TIM/KIM systems (under the bonus section), you can see them today at the commodorebook.com site (home of On The Edge).

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 051! This week's Topic: My PX-8 Virtual Disk Drive Adventure!

This week I cover the trials and tribulations of setting up a floppy disk emulator program for the Epson PX-8 laptop. It involves soldering and creative software trickery. What more could you ask for in a retro computing project?

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

A while back I did a book review on Digital Retro. It's a great book, and here's the webpage for the author, Gordon Laing...There is more to retro than computing - check out Retro Thing, the independent guide to retro technology. And definitely have a look at the section on Classic Computing!

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 050! This week's Topic: The 2006 State of the Podcast!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

A new PX-8? Sweet! Check out the PX-8 page on Star Technology...Are you an Apple II extreme coder? Need a challenge - a contest, perhaps? Have a look at the Call A.P.P.L.E. 2006 Apple II Programming Contest!

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 049! This week's Topic: The Epson PX-8 Laptop Computer!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Programmable calculators are fun! I loved mine way back when. Here's a website for TI calculator enthusiasts - programs, connectivity, and more!Intellivision Lives! Indeed it does. I can't wait to play Sea Battle again...Want a review on the latest retro computer game? Oldschool Gaming may have what you need...Here's the old-computers.com site for the PX-8 - don't forget to have a look at the pictures!Creative Computing had a review of the PX-8. They liked it, mostly. Have a look...Need tech manuals for the PX-8? Or a utility that makes a PC emulate a disk drive (cool)? Then wander on over to the Yet Another Computer Museum pages on the PX-8.Broken PX-8? Need more technical docs? The Epson CP/M Computer Technical Manuals page may have the answer...

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 048! This week's Topic: Book Review: Digital Retro!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Here's the site for the book Digital Retro!Pictures from the C4 Expo - you missed the fun? Here are some pictures. Read 'em and weep...And this is a direct link to the Z80 inside - whoa, they popped the top off that chip!The Apple II Game Server is being actively worked on - stay tuned!Magnetc tape in the gigabits per square inch? Wow! That's better than my C2N datasette...

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl

Welcome to Show 047! This week's Topic: The Z80 Microprocessor!

Topics and links discussed in the podcast...

Apple history abounds, courtesy of The Apple Computer History Weblog, and the Apple II History site!Obsolete Technology? We love it! Check out the Obsolete Technology Website at oldcomputers.net.Computer Collector Newsletter is now Technology Rewind. Congratulations on the new site!How many computers used the Z80? Well, at least more than 200, and this site has them listed...Yes, Zilog still makes Z80s! Excellent!Wikipedia's Z80 page has good stuff.The Z80 Official Support Page will give you years of Z80 reading pleasure.MyZ80 will give you the Z80 experience on a modern day PC. It is one of many Z80 / CP/M emulator solutions out there.Check out the WinApe Amstrad emulator for a Z80 experience in a mainstream home retrocomputer emulation.If all of this is not enough for you, and you want a Z80 FPGA core (for free!), have at look at the T80 page on the Opencores.org site.

Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to [email protected].

For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page!

Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan.

Thanks for listening!

- Earl