Bill Degnan, Kennett Classic https://www.vintagecomputer.net/  https://www.kennettclassic.com  Second Annual Kennett ClassicSept. 25, 2021Kennett Square, PA

FloppyDays Vintage Computing Podcast

Floppy Days 107 - Bill Degnan, Kennett Classic

The History of the IBM PC 5150 Welcome to Floppy Days episode 106 for August, 2021.  I am Randy Kindig, your host.  As regular listeners will remember, we are currently talking about computers released in 1981.  It just so happens that the next computer up is the IBM PC 5150, the grand-daddy of most modern personal computers.  It just so happens that this very month, August, is the 40th anniversary of the venerable IBM PC.  This wasn’t planned.  It just fortuitously worked out this way.  I’m planning to have a couple-episode arc on this topic, starting this month with the long and interesting history of the 5150.  How it came about and why are we living today with the choices made clear back in 1981? Although I’ll be running solo this month, as Bill Gates just couldn’t free himself up to co-host with me, I will have a co-host for the follow-up episode where we cover tech specs, books, magazines, Web sites, and all the usual topics. Before we get into the 5150 history, I will be talking a bit about new acquisitions in the vintage computer hobby and what I’ve been up to.   Finally, while I usually eschew talking about monetary support for this podcast, I do want to mention that I have a way for you help if you have the  inclination.  I have a page set up at https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays where you can donate.  Any funds will be used to defray the cost of managing the podcast as well as acquiring new hardware to talk about.

Floppy Days 106 - The History of the IBM PC

Floppy Days 105 - Joe Decuir - Developing the Amiga Hello, and welcome to another interview edition of the Floppy Days Podcast for July, 2021.  I am Randy Kindig.  I am extremely honored to bring to you today an interview with one of the true pioneers of the personal computer, one of the designers of the Amiga 1000, a primary designer of the Atari 8-bit line and Atari 2600, and the developer of modern USB based on his work developing the SIO port for the Atari 8-bit: Mr. Joe Decuir. I’ve interviewed Joe for Floppy Days before, but that was about his amazing work on the Atari 8-bit line.  Joe was able to provide a lot of history around the development of the Atari 8-bits for the shows where I was covering the 400 and 800 computers. The majority of this interview is around the work he did on the Amiga.  Joe worked closely with Jay Miner and others to design a computer in the days when personal computers were just in their infancy.  Joe shares with us the thoughts and reasoning that went into the design of the Amiga 1000  and thus brings all of us a little closer to being a part of an amazing time in computer history.  Joe also mixes in some Atari 8-bit and Atari 2600 information, talks about the Apple II, has a story involving the TI-99 and numerous other tidbits. Before diving into the interview, I will cover a few of the new acquisitions that have been added to my ever-growing vintage computer and modern upgrades collection. I had a great time, as always, talking with Joe and learning more about what it was like back in the 70’s and 80’s as a developer of some of the most incredible hardware developed up to that time.  Please enjoy! Links: Amiga .5MB upgrade - https://www.ebay.com/itm/274483642683  AmigaSD - ozkanocakli at gmail.com - https://www.vintageisthenewold.com/sdcard-interface-for-the-commodore-amiga  Amiga Addict Magazine - https://www.amiga-addict.com/  Upcoming Shows VCF West August 7 & 8, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival West , The Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA  VCFSE Aug 20-22 - https://gameatl.com/vintage-computing-festival-southeast-8-0-at-sfge/ or http://southernfriedgameroomexpo.com/ , Atlanta, GA VCF Midwest Sep 11-12 - http://vcfmw.org/announce , Elmhurst, IL (Chicago)  Tandy Assembly October 1-3 in Springfield Ohio - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  VCF East October 8, 9, 10, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival East , Wall NJ Commodore Los Angeles Super Show (CLASS) November 6-7, Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class 

Floppy Days 105 - Interview with Joe Decuir about the Amiga

Floppy Days 104 - Interview with Leonard Tramiel Welcome to Floppy Days episode 104 for June, 2021.  Randy Kindig here again, as your usual host, to talk about vintage computer topics. For this month, I have another interview for you in which Commodore and Atari fans will have special interest.  One of the most iconic figures in vintage computer history, and one who was a big part of the home computer wars back in the late 70’s and into the mid-to-late 80’s was Jack Tramiel.  Jack at one time owned Commodore and later Atari, and involved his sons intimately in the business.  Although Jack is no longer around there are plenty of interviews available on YouTube and other places where you can see and hear Jack.  For this episode, however, I was able to track down one of Jack’s sons, Leonard, and get his perspective on being involved in home computers with his father during that time.  Leonard was particularly involved in the development of the Atari ST and much of this interview will revolve around that, but there is a lot of other content here as well. For this month, I’m going to forgo any other content and just focus on the interview itself. This interview took place February 2, 2020. Please enjoy!

Floppy Days 104 - Interview with Leonard Tramiel

Floppy Days 103 - Kay Savetz Interviews Mark Englebardt, Wayzata Technology Mark Englebardt was the founder of Wayzata Technology, a company that was one of the earliest publishers of CD-ROM software. The company was founded in 1991, and produced hundreds of CD-ROM titles before going out of business in 1996. The company's discs were primarily for Macintosh but many worked with all ISO-9660 compatible platforms. Its most popular product was the Wayzata World Factbook, a disc of information about countries and territories around the world.  Downloadable versions of more than 80 of Wayzata CD-ROMs are available at the Internet Archive. This interview took place on January 26, 2016. Inc Magazine: Pioneer CD-ROM Maker Hit by Hardball Competition Downloadable versions of Wayzata CD-ROMs at Internet Archive

Floppy Days 103 - Kay Savetz Interviews Mark Englebardt, Wayzata Technology

The BBC Micro, Part 3 with Daniel Jameson Hello, and welcome to episode 102 of the Floppy Days Podcast for December, 2020.  I just love these old machines and love to learn and talk about them.  The year is 1981 and we are talking about the legendary BBC Micro or Beeb as it’s affectionately known.  This is the final episode on this incredible machine, where we will be covering Ads and Appearances, Modern Upgrades, Emulators, Buying One Today, Community, and current Web Sites. Again, as with the last episode, since the BBC Micro is a British machine I thought it only right that my co-host for these episodes should be someone from the UK.   Daniel Jameson, a prominent member of the stardot forums, graciously agreed to help me with this and provide the “color” commentary during this episode.  I think he adds a lot to the show. Before getting into the details of the Beeb, I will talk a bit about new acquisitions and what I’ve been up to, a very brief mention of any upcoming shows, and then right into the meat of the episode. New Acquisitions PC Junior VGA video card - https://www.ebay.com/itm/164149429851  C64 TapeCart - https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/Tapecart  FujiNet for Atari 800/800XL - https://fujinet.online/shop/  book “Beneath Apple DOS and ProDOS 2020” By Don Worth, Pieter Lechner - https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/pieter-lechner-and-don-worth/beneath-apple-dos-and-prodos-2020/paperback/product-g9kwzm.html?page=1&pageSize=4  MVT100 - https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=VT100 - Steve Adolph  Apple IIC composite cable - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-IIc-2c-DB15-Color-Composite-Video-amp-Audio-Cable-Tested-/233772943854?nma=true&si=tHD2mKl633oUtVis3c7Y7F3AfKY%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557  ZXpand+ - https://www.sellmyretro.com/  MISE/FreHD cases: re490 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-3D-Printed-2-color-Case-Enclosure-for-TRS-80-MISE-w-Pads-screws-NEW-/124383293703?hash=item1cf5d27107  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-3D-Printed-2-Color-Case-Enclosure-for-TRS-80-FreHD-w-Pads-screws-NEW-/124383299365?hash=item1cf5d28725  Upcoming Shows April 9, 10 & 11, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival East  June 11-13, 2021: http://southernfriedgameroomexpo.com/  August 7 & 8, 2021: Vintage Computer Festival West  Feedback Adam Trionfo - Computer and Videogame Collection - Video 1 - Books, Books and More... Books! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GhMBeqkfB8  Ads and Appearances Starring the Computer - http://www.starringthecomputer.com/  1980s BBC Micro Used By Everyone/The Story of Daphne Ad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6GQaC4Em8E  ads at 8bs.com - http://8bs.com/othrdnld/manuals/ads.shtml  ads at vintagecomputing.com - http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/657  Vintage PC Ads - https://twitter.com/vintage_pc_ads  https://twitter.com/vintage_pc_ads/status/938943770065764355/photo/1  https://twitter.com/vintage_pc_ads/status/954526425599676416/photo/1  4Corn Computers - http://4corn.co.uk/8bit.php  Modern Upgrades RetroClinic’s “INTERNAL RASPBERRY PI 1GHz MULTI-CORE CO-PROCESSOR KIT” uses a Raspberry Pi to emulate a number of the Tube processor expansions - https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/retroclinic  TheFutureWas8Bit “SD2BBC BBC Micro SPI SD Card Interface” - SD2BBC  SPROW Ethernet Adapter - http://www.sprow.co.uk/bbc/masternet.htm  Acorn BBC Micro RGB SCART - Cool Novelties  Acorn BBC Micro RGB SCART - RetroComputerShack  RGB to HDMI directly using RPi Zero https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14430&start=90  https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20404  GreaseWeazle - https://github.com/keirf/Greaseweazle  modern USB mouse adapter - SmallyMouse - https://www.domesday86.com/?page_id=245  Emulation BBC Micro emulators - Emulation General Wiki  B-EM - The BBC Micro Emulator , https://github.com/stardot/b-em  BeebEm - BBC Micro and Master 128 Emulator  BeebEm For Mac  BeebEm for UNIX - http://beebem-unix.bbcmicro.com/  JSBeeb: JSBeeb - Javascript BBC Micro emulator  https://github.com/mattgodbolt/jsbeeb  The Complete BBC Games Archive a website holding nearly all software for the BBC Micro, most with links to play online for free in JSBeeb. Matt Godbolt’s blog and videos - https://xania.org/Emulation  model-b, a BBC Micro Emulator for Windows  b2 - https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13081 , https://github.com/tom-seddon/b2/releases  Community Facebook Acorn Computer and BBC Micro Enthusiasts - https://www.facebook.com/groups/AcornAndBBCMicro/  Mailing Lists - BBC Micro mailing list - http://lists.cloud9.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/bbc-micro  Twitter - BBC Micro (@acornproton) - https://twitter.com/acornproton  Forums AtariAge - http://www.atariage.com  stardot.org.uk  6502.org - http://forum.6502.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3482  Current Web Sites General Info BBC Micro - Tips BeebMaster BeebWiki BBC Micro - Wikipedia Inside The Master 128 - Motherboard picture mdfs.net - Software and documentation covering such subjects as Acorn BBCs, Econet and networking  R. T. Russell: The home of BBC BASIC The BBC lives! Sprow's webpages - BBC Mecca The Retro-Kit Collection Yellow Pigs BBC Computer Pages BBC and Master Computer PD Library 8 Bit Acorn Webring  The BBC micro as a `multi-multimeter' - https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989PhyEd..24...44T/abstract  Vic from the 10pence Arcade podcast recently teamed up with Kingy from the RGDS podcast presenters to talk about some of the games for the BBC Micro The Press Play on Tape podcast also did an episode on Acorn a few years back Stores RetroClinic | eBay Stores - Mark Haysman Cool Novelties - BBC Micro & Acorn - Retro Gaming, Electronics and Novelty Gifts DataServe Retro - repair BBC PS - Steve Gledhill 

Floppy Days 102 - The BBC Micro, Part 3

The BBC Micro, Part 2 Hello, and welcome to episode 101 of the Floppy Days Podcast for September, 2020.  The year is 1981 and we are talking about the legendary BBC Micro.  In this episode and next we will fully cover this incredible machine; from tech specs, peripherals, and books/magazines/software to emulators, modern upgrades, and current Web sites. The BBC Micro is a British machine, and I thought it only right that my co-host for these episodes should be someone from the UK.  I acquired my BBC Micro, a BBC Master Series model, from my good friend and frequent contributor to the show via feedback, Andy Collins.  We did an international swap, where I sent him a machine that is common in the US (the Apple IIGS) and he sent me a machine common in the UK (the aforementioned BBC Master).  It would have cost each of us a not-insignificant sum of money otherwise to acquire our respective machines, as they each are rare in the country from which they did not originate.  I’m very happy with the trade and thankful to Andy for helping me get a BBC Micro. In any event, Andy agreed to co-host this episode, for which I’m grateful, and I will have another UK resident for next month’s co-host. Before getting into the details of the Beeb, I will talk a bit about new acquisitions and what I’ve been up to, a very brief mention of any upcoming shows, and then right into the meat of the episode. Links Mentioned in the Show: The History of the Fortran Programming Language by Mark Jones Lorenzo - https://amzn.to/3iboEK4  The Atari Experience by Adrien Lamothe Jr. - https://amzn.to/36fakOh  The Easy Guide to Your Atari 600XL/800XL by Thomas Blackadar - https://amzn.to/36eTCyF  Compute!’s ST Programmer’s Guide by The Editors of Compute! - https://amzn.to/3kVLVkX  Elementary ST BASIC by C. Regena (Compute! Books) - https://amzn.to/2Gk4vUQ  Beginning Programming Using Retro Computing, Learn BASIC with a Commodore Emulator by Gerald Friedland - https://amzn.to/3jiVlqn  PRM-85 - Bill Kotaska - https://vintagecomputers.sdfeu.org/hp85/prm85.htm  H85Disk - Mike Gore - https://github.com/magore/hp85disk/tree/master/  

Floppy Days 101 - The BBC Micro, Part 2

Ed Smith, developer of the Imagination Machine Ed Smith is an African American was born in 1954  in Brownsville Brooklyn, NY. Ed studied electrical engineering at Westinghouse High School, then computer science and marketing at Pace University. Ed is one of only two African Americans to develop a video game system in the 1970s and the first African American to work in the design of a personal computer – The Imagination Machine. Links Mentioned in the Show: Intro Floppy Days that covered the MP1000 and IM-1 back in 2014 (episode 22) - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-episode-22-the-apf-imagination-machine New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To book - Commodore the Final Years by Brian Bagnall - https://www.amazon.com/Commodore-Final-Years-Brian-Bagnall/dp/0994031033/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=flodaypod-20&linkId=2145a99d3cb6c0a9d26dc08ee0b9394f&language=en_US  MagPi Magazine - https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/  Pi4 8GB - https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/  Fusion Magazine - Amiga special - https://fusiongamemag.com/collections/magazine/products/fusion-amiga  Current Notes magazines - collection at Archive.org - https://archive.org/details/@allan52  Next Without For Podcast - http://www.nextwithoutfor.org/#:~:text=Welcome%20to%20Next%20Without%20For&text=Next%20Without%20For%20is%20a,or%20(b)...  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/ - No word on the Website yet Interview Ed’s Website - https://www.imaginethat2.com/  article on Ed Smith, Black Enterprise, Dec. 1982 - http://books.google.com/books?id=N6pacvfrf0wC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q&f=false https://www.fastcompany.com/3063298/ed-smith-and-the-imagination-machine-the-untold-story-of-a-black-vid  by Benj Edwards, Fast Company, 9/2/16 “Imagine That!” by Ed Smith and Benj Edwards - https://www.amazon.com/Imagine-That-Americans-personal-computers-ebook/dp/B0846535TR  

Floppy Days 100 - Ed Smith, Developer of APF MP1000 and IM-1

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/  

Floppy Days 99 - The BBC Micro, Interview with Hermann Hauser

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  

Floppy Days 98 - The BBC Micro History

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  

Floppy Days 97 - The BBC Micro, Interview with Steve Furber

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  

Floppy Days 96 - Epson HX-20 Bonus, Norbert Kehrer Interview

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  

Floppy Days 95 - The Epson HX-20 Part 2 With Earl Evans

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    

Floppy Days 94 - The Epson HX-20 Part 1, with Earl Evans

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  

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FloppyDays Vintage Computing Podcast

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