Floppydays Vintage Computing Podcast

Stewart Cheifet, Computer Chronicles Links: Stewart Cheifet Productions - http://cheifet.com/   Email - stewart@cheifet.com Twitter - www.twitter.com/cheifet Facebook - www.facebook.com/cheifet Watch episodes of COMPUTER CHRONICLES - http://www.archive.org/details/computerchronicles Watch episodes of NET CAFE - http://www.archive.org/details/netcafe Stewart’s interview on Triangulation with Leo Laporte - https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/114

The Commodore Vic-20, Part II Web site: http://floppydays.com email: floppydays@gmail.com Twitter: @floppydays Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/floppydays on iTunes and Stitcher (www.stitcher.com) part of the Throwback Network (www.throwbacknetwork.net ) Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/I5bhao6ixoxkzq52qlku5mfb43q?t=FloppyDays_Vintage_Computing_Podcast Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions Vic-20 Final Expansion - http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=65219&sid=967941d7fa89090f137792181226c3b3 Vic-20 Cartzilla! - http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/vic20/Cartzilla.html Amiga mouse - new mint from MyAtari (B&C ComputerVisions, Atari Sales & Service) - http://myatari.com/ Amiga power supply - Ray Carlsen - http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/ Amiga emulator - Amiga Forever 7 - https://www.amigaforever.com/ News VCF Midwest 12 - http://vcfmw.org/ Evan Wright - http://mrwrightteacher.net/index.php Evan Wright’s Cross Platform Text Adventure Generator - ht

This is a special set of ads for the Tandy Assembly show coming to Chillicothe, OH October 7 & 8. Thank you to all our sponsors. http://www.tandyassembly.com   

Interview with Ian Mavric, TRS-80 Recycler This is an interview-only episode of Floppy Days.  I was able to catch up with someone well-known in the TRS-80 community, Mr. Ian Mavric, or Mav for short.  Mav bills himself as a TRS-80 recycler who also sells a lot of upgrades for the TRS-80 line of computers, including the FreHD, hi-res boards, the Quinnterface and others.  He’s also a member of the TRS-80 Trash Talk Podcast and writes for the TRS8BIT newsletter.  Mav is very active in the TRS-80 community and I was very happy to be able to sit down with him and talk about everything in which he’s involved. Links: Mav’s web site - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/ To order FreHD parts - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/emulator To order FreHD Clearly Superior sets -  http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/clearlysuperior/ TRS-80 Model 4 Hi-Res boards -  http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/hires/hires.htm Fred Vecoven, Inventor of FreHD -  http://www.vecoven.com/trs80/trs80.html Mav c

Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 5.0 Post-show Hi, everyone and welcome to episode #75 of the Floppy Days Podcast.  I’m your host, Randy Kindig.  It’s July, 2017, and I have a special episode for you where I cover the VCFSE 5.0 show that took place April 29-30 this year in Roswell, Georgia.  When I say I “cover” the show, what I really mean is that I give you a limited perspective of the show from my eyes, as an exhibitor at the event.  I will be talking about the exhibit I was a part of, some of the people I met, and purchases or sales that I made.  The largest part of this episode, however, are the interviews that I was able to get at the show.  They were interesting and fun for me.  I hope you enjoy it, and if you were not able to make it to VCFSE this year, please consider attending next year.  It’s well worth the effort to get there. Links Mentioned in the Show: VCFSE 5 presentation videos - https://vimeo.com/user50868990 The Guru Meditation - http://www.thegurumeditation.org/  Video of meeting Bill

Interview with Giacomo Vernoni, author Commodore Vic 20: A Visual History Hello and welcome to the Floppy Days Podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig, your host.  This is a special interview-only episode.  I was able to track down Giacomo Vernoni(Jockamo VERnoni), a computer historian who recently published a book called “Commodore Vic 20: A Visual History”.  As I’ve been covering the Vic-20 on recent shows, it thought it was very timely and that it would be great to interview someone who is very familiar with the machine and liked it well enough to publish a book about it.  It was awesome to catch up with Giacomo and talk with him for a little while. This interview took place on April 1st, 2017. Links: Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/958354463/commodore-vic-20-a-visual-history-hardback-book Giacomo’s site - www.oldcomputr.com Giacomo’s older Italian site - http://vecchicomputer.com

The Commodore Vic-20, Part I Hello, everyone, and welcome to Episode 73 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where modern computers are simply considered peripherals to the classic computers.  My name is Randy Kindig.  In the computer timeline, we’re still squarely in the year 1980.  In that year, a breakthrough computer, with a great keyboard, color graphics and sound was announced for under $300.  Of course, if you’ve been listening to the last few episodes of the podcast, you know that we’re talking about the Commodore Vic-20.  William Shatner said it best in the TV ads of the time: “The wonder computer of the 1980’s: The Commodore Vic-20”.  So far on Floppy Days, we’ve covered the history of the machine from the perspective of three different gentlemen: Brian Bagnall, historian; Neil Harris, member of the Vic Commando Team; and Michael Tomczyk, leader of that same Vic Commando Team and assistant to Jack Tramiel.  In this episode, friends and fellow podcasters Jeff Salzman and Todd George, help me go through tech s

Interview with Neil Harris, Member of the Vic Commando Team Welcome to the Floppy Days Podcast, where classic computers will always have a home.  My name is Randy Kindig.  This is the final of four consecutive episodes where I talked to gentlemen who were either involved with the development of the historically significant Commodore Vic-20, or who have written books on its history.  In this episode Neil Harris is my guest.  Neil was a key member of the Vic Commando Team within Commodore, the team that was responsible for the introduction of the Vic-20 and helping it to become the first home computer to sell 1 million units.  Neil also later worked for Atari, when the Tramiels left Commodore and purchased Atari from Warner.  Neil helps me walk through the history of the Vic through the eyes of someone on the front line.  I think you’ll find this interesting. Before we get to that, I have a few housekeeping items to cover and then we’ll get into the meat of the podcast. Web site: http://floppydays.com email: fl

Interview with Brian Bagnall, Author “Commodore, A Company on the Edge” Welcome to the Floppy Days Podcast, where old computers survive to tell another tale.  My name is Randy Kindig.  In the previous couple of episodes, I covered the history of the Vic-20 computer with the help of Neil Harris, Brian Bagnall, and Michael Tomczyk.  Although I used some audio clips from each of those gentlemen to walk through the history timeline, I actually have a full-blown interview with each that I want to share with you over the span of three episodes.  I’ve already published the interview with Michael Tomczyk, leader of the Vic Commando Team and assistant to Jack Tramiel.  Next up, I am publishing the interview with Brian Bagnall, author of the book “Commodore, A Company on the Edge” and who is working on the follow-up book “Commodore: The Amiga Years”. Before we get to that, I will very briefly cover upcoming shows and a bit of feedback, but then we will get right into the interview with Brian Bagnall. Web site: http://f

Interview with Michael Tomczyk, Vic-20 Commando Team Leader at Commodore Welcome to the Floppy Days Podcasts, where old computers are the best computers and new old computers are even better.  Last month, I covered the history of the Vic-20 computer with the help of Neil Harris, Brian Bagnall, and Michael Tomczyk.  Although I used some audio clips from each of those gentlemen to walk through the history timeline, I actually have a full-blown interview with each that I want to share with you over the span of three episodes.  For this episode, I will be publishing the interview with Michael Tomczyk.  Michael was with Commodore for some time, was an assistant to none other than Jack Tramiel, and was the leader of the team known as the Vic Commando Team.  He was happy to talk about his time at Commodore and turned out to be a very interesting interview and a great guy with which to talk. Before we get to that, I do have a few housekeeping items to cover, such as a few new acquisitions, some brief news, and a bit

The Commodore Vic-20 - History, with Brian Bagnall, Michael Tomczyk, and Neil Harris Welcome to episode 69 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where our computers may be old, but that’s why we love them. In the vintage computer timeline, we are in 1980.  The next computer I want to discuss that debuted that year is the Commodore Vic-20.  The Vic-20 is significant because it was the first color computer to sell for less than $300, at a time when other home computers with color graphics were 2 to 4 times that amount.  It also was the first home computer of any type to sell over 1 million units. In this first episode about the Vic-20, I want to cover the history of this machine: why it was developed, some of the stories around its development, what happened after its release, and when it was canceled.  To that end, I contacted some notable persons that were involved with the roll-out and support of the Vic-20, as well as a person who was involved in documenting Commodore’s history.  The first person I contacted was Mich

Interview with Bill Kemper, HP Employee and HP Series 80 Software Engineer Hello, again, and welcome to episode 68 of the Floppy Days Podcast.  This will be a fairly short, interview-only show.  As a final piece of the recent series of podcasts on the HP Series 80 family of machines, I was able to sit down and talk with Mr. William Kemper.  Bill worked directly on software for the HP Series 80 and later was the manager of software engineering for the line until it was canceled.  He then continued on for some time with HP until the merger with Compaq around 2002.  In the interview, we discuss Everett Kaser, who worked for Bill, and who was one of my co-hosts for the HP Series 80 podcasts. Links Mentioned in the Show: HP Series 80 Forum at groups.io - https://groups.io/g/hpseries80

The HP Series 80 (HP83/85/86/87) This episode is the third and final in a series about the Hewlett Packard HP-85 computer, or more accurately, the entire line of similar computers known as the HP Series 80.  Once again, I have the tremendously knowledgeable duo of Everett Kaser and Vassilis Prevelakis helping me impart information to you about that venerable line of historically significant desktop computers.  In this episode, we will primarily be covering tech specs, peripherals, expansion, magazines and newletters, books, emulation, modern upgrades, connectivity to modern computers, buying one today, community and Web sites.  Wow, now that I list this out, it’s obvious we have a lot to cover.  In addition, I will briefly talk about my new vintage computer acquisitions, feedback and perhaps a little news. Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions Vic-20 Behr-Bonz Cart - http://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7513 TI-59 Gummy Wheel Repair Kit - http://www.ebay.com/itm/T

Welcome to Episode 66 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where we try to relive our youth by talking about computers nearly as old as we are.  Vintage Computer Festival Midwest #11 recently happened on Sep. 10 and 11, 2016 in Elk Grove Village, IL and I managed to find my way there again this year.  Once again, I had an incredible time at the event and thought I’d share some of it with you.  I managed to get a few interviews, meet several people I had never met before, catch up with old friends, and come home with far more items than I left with.  So, I plan to give you a quick run-down of the event through my eyes and I hope you find this interesting. Links Mentioned in the Show: my presentation, you can find it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNTiEZl30Fg Edladdin controllers - http://www.edladdin.com Podcast on the Exidy Sorcerer - http://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-episode-17-the-exidy-sorcerer-live-from-vcfse-20 Peter Bartlett - http://bartlettlabs.com/ Evan Wright - http://mrwrightteacher.

Welcome to Episode 65 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where a summer computer camp for middle-aged geeks is the highlight of our year.  My name is Randy Kindig.  This is a very special edition of Floppy Days produced and contributed by my good friend Mike Whalen and it includes sound bites from many of the attendees of this year’s annual week-long KansasFest Apple II event that always happens in Kansas City, Missouri.  Mike is a long-time Apple II and retro-computer fan and one of the hosts of the currently-dormant Electric Dreams BBS Podcast.  I met Mike at the one-and-only KansasFest event that I’ve been able to attend thus far, that being in 2014.  I would certainly recommend the event to anyone that enjoys getting together with a large number of vintage computer nuts for an entire week, living the college dorm life, and generally immersing themselves in the out-of-date-but-still-loads-of-fun Apple II computer.  It’s one of things that you must experience at least once, although for most people it tends to be

The HP-85B Microcomputer, Part 2 Hello, and welcome to episode 64 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where old computers come to live.  I’m Randy Kindig and I’m happy to bring you this episode this month.  This episode is Part 2 about the HP Series 80 line of microcomputers.  Last month I interviewed 2 well-known members of the HP Series 80 community, Everett Kaser former HP engineer who worked on the Series 80 and runs kaser.com and Vassilis Prevelakis of series80.org.  This month, they are back to help me talk about the history of these fabulous machines.  It’s a fascinating conversation with two gentlemen who have a lot of love of and knowledge about these machines. I want to thank Everett for providing the intro to this episode with his memories of the Series 80. Before getting into the meat of the program, I do intend to talk briefly about any new vintage computer acquisitions, upcoming shows and feedback. Ok, let’s fire up the ol’ HP-85 and see what we can learn. Links Mentioned in the Show: Co-hosts Everett

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 11, Sep 10-11, 2016, Elk Grove Village, IL This a special interview show to help get the word out about an upcoming event: Vintage Computer Festival Midwest.  This will be the eleventh iteration of this event and I talk with Jason Timmons, one of the main organizers of the event.  He tells us all about the event, including guest speakers that will be there, exhibits, vendors and much more.  If you can make it to the Chicago area the weekend of September 10 & 11, 2016, I highly recommend that you drop in and enjoy the show. Links VCF Midwest home page - http://vcfmw.org VCF Midwest 11 Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/events/1552273738417440/ VCF Midwest Twitter - https://twitter.com/vcfmidwest ECCC home page - http://starbase.globalpc.net/eccc/ Jim Brain, Retro Innovations - http://store.go4retro.com/ GoFundMe page for show donations - https://www.gofundme.com/vcfmw

Welcome to episode 62 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where a little smoke once in a while is a hazard of the hobby.  In the vintage computer timeline, we are still in the 1979 to 1980 timeframe.  This month we are covering the HP-85 desktop computer, or actually the entire series of which the HP-85 was a part known as the HP Series 80. I struck gold when I found the two gentlemen who are co-hosting this episode with me.  First is Everett Kaser, who worked for HP for 20 years and was intimately involved in the development and support of the HP-85.  Secondly, we have Vassilis Prevelakis, who runs one of the best resources about the HP Series 80 in existence today, hpseries80.org.  Once we started talking, and I interviewed the two gentlemen, I realized we were going to need a multi-part show to cover the large amount of information and history around this significant platform.  So, the first show will be the interview with Everett and Vassilis and next month we will get into history, tech specs, emulation, Web sit

VCF West Official Site - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/

Welcome to episode 60 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where vintage in the term vintage computers simply means “cool”.  My name is Randy Kindig.  I am happy to bring you this month the follow-up or second of two episodes on the HP41C programmable calculator.  Once again, I have two stellar members of the HP41 community, Richard J. Nelson and Gene Wright, with me to bring you all the information you care to know about the HP41.  That includes a wrap-up to the history of the machine, tech specs, books, software, newsletters, modern upgrades, emulation, current Web sites, and so much more.  Before that, I do want to discuss a few new acquisitions that have come my way, as well as some feedback I’ve received from listeners. Links Mentioned in the Show: Books “Easy Course in Programming The HP-4”1 by Ted Wadman and Chris Coffin, illustrated by Robert Bloch - http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Course-Programming-HP-41/dp/0931011094 “Programming the TI-59 and HP-41 Calculators” by Paul Garrison - http://www.amazon.com/Progra