Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Kay Savetz Topic: 1990 1990 saw a decline of various personal computer magazines, as well as the introduction of the Video Toaster. Apple started misting the market with computer variants. Topic/Feedback links: RCR episode 90 Macintosh LC Macintosh Classic Macintosh IIfx Macintosh IIsi Computer mags in 1990 were an interesting mix of modern and dying (Compute’s Gazette, BBC Acorn, Atari Explorer, the last issue of Antic) and MSX which was both. MiniDisc (actually 1992) MiniDisc.wiki (home of Web MiniDisc Pro) MZ-RH1 MiniDisc player/recorder
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Earl Evans Topic: 1989 Several things happened during the final year to begin prior to The Simpsons hitting the airwaves. For example, Sim City and PKZIP came out. Tim from CERN proposed an information sharing architecture. Everyone on the bus started playing with Game Boys. Topic/Feedback links: SimCity Mac Office (Word 4, Excel 2.2, PowerPoint 2.01, Mail 1.37) ZIP format introduced Phil Katz ARC Tim Berners-Lee proposed WWW Microsoft SQL Server announced Nintendo Game Boy Macintosh Portable Ejecting a disk in space RCR episode 89 Retro Com
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Earl Evans Topic: 1988 In 1988, NeXT introduced its cube, bundled with Mathematica 1.0. IRC was developed. Sound Blaster changed gaming. Microsoft Office was announced. Lots of software was developed, and hardware incrementally improved. Topic/Feedback links: NeXT cube Laser 128EX/2 Mathematica Celebrating 35 Years of Mathematica (YouTube, first few sections show it in action on an SE/30) The Mathematica Story – A Scrapbook Sound Blaster (but 1990? 1989?) Microsoft Office (announced 1988, shipped 1990) IRC developed – /me likes this Apple II
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Blake Patterson Topic: 1987 The Acorn Archimedes became the first computer sold based on the ARM chip. Even today, the last does not appear to be in sight. 1987 also bought us Perl, the IBM PS/2, VGA, Hypercard. CompuServe gifted us GIF. Beyond 1987, we talk BBC BASIC, Quantum Link, and more about the Commodore Colt than you ever wanted. Topic/Feedback links: Acorn Archimedes IBM PS/2 VGA Larry Wall wrote Perl Bill Atkinson designs Hypercard CompuServe introduced a proprietary graphics interchange format. Great. Took off like gangbusters. Li
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Jack Nutting, and Blake Patterson Topic: 1986 IDE, IMAP, IIGS, and even some other things that do not begin with “I” were introduced in 1986. Topic/Feedback links: Apple IIGS MacBook Wheel SCSI-1 IDE IBM PC XT/286 IMAP ShaderGlass Retro Computing News: The Myst Graph: A New Perspective on Myst (and Part II) Postage-stamp-sized Atari 8-bit compatible FPGA hardware device Ice-T, a VT100/102/52 terminal emulator for the Atari 8-bit Bill Atkinson passed away (Wired) Building a dream PC in 1993 Shufflepuck Cafe for the Apple II Retro Recipes is buyin
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Blake Patterson Topic: 1985 The year of the Amiga arrives, NeXT is founded, the first .com site appears, Quantum Computer Services begins its journey toward becoming AOL. Topic/Feedback links: Commodore Amiga Installing FS-UAE on Mac Amiga Forever Ample NeXT symbolics.com symbolics.com museum Symbolics Aldus PageMaker Apple LaserWriter Enterprise Super Mario Bros Microsoft Windows 1.0 Quantum Computer Services founded, which became AOL GameLine GameLine (eBay) Atari Compendium: Longevity (mentions Supercharger) Arcadia/Starpath Supercharger
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Blake Patterson, and Kay Savetz Topic: 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh and Apple //c in 1984, IBM introduced the PCjr, HP introduced the LaserJet, and FidoNet began distributing mail. Topic/Feedback links: Apple //c IBM PCjr Christmas 1984: The Great Apple //c vs. PCjr Battle Macintosh The 1984 Superbowl ad (YT) The 1984 Superbowl ad FidoNet fidonet.org FidoNews Subtext (classic Mac BBS with FidoNet support) HP LaserJet LaserJet in HP’s own Virtual museum (warning: QuickTime 5 required) CHM discusses Lisa source code with Bill Atkinson Retro
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Kay Savetz, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1983 In 1983, Apple gave us Lisa, the ImageWriter, and the Apple //e. Atari gave us the XL line, Microsoft gave us (Multi-Tool) Word, Lotus gave us 1-2-3, David Lightman gave us wardialing. The era of it being always DNS began. Topic/Feedback links: Apple Lisa Apple ImageWriter iOMEGA Bernoulli Box Demo of Bernoulli Box A220 Bernoulli Box brochure PCMag review of the Bernoulli Box MIDI ANTIC interview 447: Robert Moore and Paul Rother (Hybrid Arts MIDIMate) ANTIC interview 448: Frank Foster (Hybrid Arts MIDIMate) Mic
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Michael Mulhern, and Kay Savetz Topic: 1982 In 1982, Commodore launched the Commodore 64, GCE launched the Vectrex, Brøderbund launched a rescue helicopter. Computers reached TV, and Flynn drove a light cycle. Topic/Feedback links: Commodore 64 MAX Machine in Japan (Ultimax elsewhere), formerly VICKEY Spawned RUN magazine, but people failed to follow this advice in droves Tron Apple III Choplifter Choplifter: The Complete History (YouTube, Slopes Game Room Pitfall! Classic game postmortem GDC 2011 Vectrex The Computer Programme (10 part BBC seri
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Blake Patterson Topic: 1981 In 1981, we started communicating with AT commands and Kermit. Timex/Sinclair released the 1000/ZX-81. We got the BBC Micro and the ABC 800. IBM introduced the PC, for business, no fun allowed. And MS-DOS. And more. Topic/Feedback links: Sony 3.5 drive Quick, hide in this closet! (folklore.org) IBM PC “Atari” design MS-DOS Osborne 1 Xerox Star IPv4 Kermit kermitproject.org C-Kermit 10.0 beta 11 released in early August Hayes Smartmodem 300 Hayes AT command set Sinclair ZX81 Timex/Sinclair 1000 BBC Micro ABC 800 Do
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1980 In 1980, Commodore introduced the VIC-20, Sinclair introduced the ZX80, Tandy introduced the Color Computer, and HP tried to breed a computer out of calculators. Also other things happened. Which we discuss! Topic/Feedback links: VIC-20 Sinclair ZX80 See also: MicroAce (timexsinclair.com) HP-85 See also: Tandy PC-4 Tandy Color Computer Intel 8087 Pac-Man Epson MX-80 Retro Computing News: Apple’s best keyboard reimagined (YouTube) Update on the Business IIGS (original auction gone, but: Incider Jan 1989 cover)
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1979 In 1979, VisiCalc’s rampage began, and models 400, 800 (Atari), II (TRS-80), and 4 (TI 99) arrived. Topic/Feedback links: Wordstar VisiCalc TI 99/4 Intellivision Asteroids Atari 400/800 MUD1 StarMud review TRS-80 Model II Motorola 68000 Compu$erve CB Simulator Robert Williams becomes first human killed by a robot Retro Computing News: Unicode 16.0 adds more Symbols for Legacy Computing Existing Unicode symbols for Legacy Computing Unicode symbols for Legacy Computing working group document Unscii font Grace Hop
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting) and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1978 In 1978, we got WordStar and LaserDisc. Not VisiCalc. Topic/Feedback links: Wordstar (Wikipedia) VisiCalc (Wikipedia) almost! Laserdisc Exidy Sorceror lot discussed in episode 182, November 2018 DEC VAX (Wikipedia) again? Retro Computing News: Grace Hopper lecture found but can’t be released Living Computer Museum will start auctioning things Gen One (Christie’s) Legends of Adventure: The Story of Sierra On-Line Unboxing an Apple-1 (YouTube) Apple-1 number 18 Vintage Computer(-related) commercials: Wordstar commercial (Compu
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1977 In 1977, XMODEM, VAX, and FAT arrived. And the Atari VCS (2600). And the TRS-80 Model 1, Commodore PET, and Apple II. Topic/Feedback links: Atari 2600 (Wikipedia) Atari 2600 Pac-Man (Wikipedia) Tod Frye discusses Pac-Man 8K homebrew (YouTube) TRS-80 Model 1 (Wikipedia) TRS-80 Model 1 (trs-80.org) Commodore PET (Wikipedia) Commodore PET (commodore.ca) Apple II (Wikipedia) XMODEM (WIkipedia) FAT (Wikipedia) DEC VAX (Wikipedia) UNIVAC (Wikipedia) Retro Computing News: Electromechanical Lunar Lander Tim Hunkin (You
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1976 In 1976, Bill Gates wrote a letter, and the Queen sent an e-mail. Two 1s (Apple- and Cray-) appeared on the scene. Topic/Feedback links: Zilog Z80 (Wikipedia) CP/M (Wikipedia) Incidental mention: Kaypro 2000 An Open Letter to Hobbyists (Wikipedia) Apple-1 (WIkipedia) Cray-1 (Wikipedia) The Queen sent an email 5.25″ Floppy Disk (computerhistory) Public Key Cryptography Retro Computing News: Riven (Digital Antiquarian) RealMyst Atari 2600 Myst Demake Atari 2600 Myst Demake Longplay (YouTube) Atari (not really
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Michael Mulhern, and Blake Patterson Topic: 1975 In 1975 we got the Altair 8800, Micro-Soft. Topic/Feedback links: MITS Altair 8800 (Wikipedia) History of Microsoft (Wikipedia) 6502 (Wikipedia) Retro Computing News: A1222+ “Tabor” Now Available for Purchase KansasFest 2024 registration opens Z80 EOL announcment Z80 EOL (hackster.io) Z80 EOL (techspot.com) Sega AI BASIC turned 60 Vintage Computer(-related) commercials: Apple IIc Netpliance i-opener Retro Computing Gift Idea: Zilog Z80 (mouser) Auction Picks: Blake: BackSID Paul: Penguin Map Pack
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1974 1974 brought us the SCELBI 8H, SQL, and the Captain Crunch whistle. Topic/Feedback links: SCELBI (Wikipedia) The SCELBI-8H, Probably the First Advertised Personal Computer Sold in Kit Form The SCELBI Mini-Computer (Mike Willegal) Build your own SCELBI 8H (Mike Willegal) Mike’s Hobby Blog, category: 8008. (Mike Willegal) Mike Willegal introduces the SCELBI 8H at VCF W 2020 SQL (Wikipedia) John Draper (John Draper, Captain Crunch, Wikipedia) Retro Computing News: A][ VGA MINI card FLEX64K FLEX64K vide
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Earl Evans Topic: 1973 1973 brought us Ethernet and the TV Typewriter, and more. Topic/Feedback links: Ethernet (Wikipedia) TV Typewriter (deramp.com) Retro Computing News: Greaseweazle v4 Apple II pendulum clock (GitHub) Chips to Lode Runner (Eric Badger, YouTube) Ben Eater 6502 kits Vintage Computer(-related) commercials: Atarisoft radio ad 1983 TRS-80 Pocket Computer Retro Computing Gift Idea: Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa (Lisa documentary by David Greelish, Vimeo) Auction Picks: Earl Commodore 1581 3D-printed case (different auction)
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Blake Patterson, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1972 1972 brought us C (good enough for us), Pong, Magnavox Odyssey, and more. Topic/Feedback links: Dennis Ritchie on the development of C (ACM SIGPLAN Notices, March 1993) Pong released (Wikipedia) Atari founded (Wikipeda) A history of Syzygy/Atari (Michael Current) Magnavox Odyssey (Wikipedia) Retro Computing News: Computer science pioneer Niklaus Wirth dies aged 89 (Developer Tech) Thinking Back on Turbo Pascal as it Turns 40 (Bytecellar) Dave Dunfield source code (including ImageDisk) (Classicc
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1971 1971 brought us Computer Space, the Intel 4004, the Kenbak-1, and Email. Topic/Feedback links: Computer Space It’s the year 2022, let’s play Computer Space (YouTube) Intel 4004 Kenbak-1 (“arguably the first personal computer”) Ray Tomlinson of BBN sent the first email message in 1971 Retro Computing News: John Romero and John Carmack reunion live on Twitch, Dec 10, 2023 (Twitch) Apple Time Warp podcast – Nasir Gebelli interview (part 1 of 3) MECC 6502 Simulator (YouTube) MECC 6502 disk simulator working disk im
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1970 In 1970, (Unix) time and Life began. Also, Pascal was “published,” Forth was first used by other programmers, Shakey the robot shook, DRAM appeared. Topic/Feedback links: Recollections about the development of Pascal (Niklaus Wirth) The evolution of Forth (forth.com) Shakey the Robot (YouTube) 75 years of innovation: Shakey the Robot (SRI) conways game of life (Google search) Martin Gardner’s Scientific American article (Scientific American, Oct 1970) DRAM (Wikipedia) Aquarius+ (GitHub) Aquarius+ (A
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Carrington Vanston Topic: 1968-1969 In 1968 and 1969, we had SHRDLU, the Mother of All Demos, Go To being considered harmful, and Unix. Topic/Feedback links: SHRDLU SHRDLU in action (YouTube) Terry Winograd’s PhD thesis. How SHRDLU got its name. Douglas Englebart’s Mother of All Demos (YouTube) Douglas Englebart’s Mother of All Demos (Wikipedia) Edgar Dijkstra: Go To Statement Considered Harmful David Tribble: Go To Statement Considered Harmful, a retrospective UNIX timeline Ritchie: The Evolution of the Unix Time-sharing System Retro Comput
Various podcasters who attended the KansasFest 2023 or virtual A24eVR event relate their experiences and thoughts, in the annual “megapodcast” tradition. Participants: Paul Hagstrom Retrocomputing Roundtable Drop /// Inches Ron Ron’s Computer Videos Kat (LadyAiluros) Retro Metal Javier Rivera Retro Repair Roundtable Chris Torrence Assembly Lines Josh 48KRAM on Twitch Ken Gagne Juiced.GS A2Central.com Open Apple A2Stream file: a2stream file for this episode: http://lo-fi.rcrpodcast.com/rcr268.a2stream Feedback/Discussion: rcrpodcast@podcast.social on Mastodon Vintage Computer Forum RCR Podcast
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Earl Evans, and Blake Patterson Topic: 1967 1967 gave us Logo and the floppy disk, so we talk about that, and then many other things. Topic/Feedback links: Logo (Wikipedia) LogoWriter tape 1 (The Daily Papert) LogoWriter tape 1 (Vimeo) Logo Week (ByteCellar) TurtleSpaces JSLogo History of the Floppy Disk (Wikipedia) Ejecting a floppy in space Retro Computing News: Chevy V8 engine replica built using LEGO & Apple II Port of Space Taxi to the Atari 8-bit systems (VITNO) Space Taxi (Wikipedia) Myst demake PETSCII BBS Builder GEM ported to a Dana wo
Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, Blake Patterson, with guest Laine Nooney Topics: 1966, and The Apple II Age Two topics this time: First, some things from 1966, and then, a discussion with Laine Nooney on their newly published book The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal. Topic/Feedback links: The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal (University of Chicago Press, 2023, Laine Nooney) Laine Nooney Don’t Copy That Floppy: The untold history of Apple II software piracy (Excerpt from the book) Carterfone Hush-a-Phone (1921) (eBay) ELIZA—A Computer Program For th
