Floppydays Vintage Computing Podcast

Hello, all, and welcome to the next installment of the podcast that says “vintage electronics: I WANT IT”.  I’m Randy Kindig and I’m your host.  This episode is the first of a 2-parter on the Hewlett Packard HP-41 line of programmable calculators.  The HP-41 is a seminal example of programmable calculators from the late 70’s and into the 80’s and is still very desirable and sought after today.  I was lucky enough to find 2 gentlemen to co-host who are well-known among the active HP calculator community that exists today: Richard J. Nelson, who has written, edited, and published as much HP-41 material as anyone ever.  And Gene Wright who is on the HP Handheld Conference Committee and he was a TI fan before becoming “hooked” on the HP-41.  In this first part on the HP-41, I interview the co-hosts and then we cover the history of the calculator line in detail.  Next month, with the same co-hosts, we will cover Web sites, emulation, software, and much more. To start out, as usual, I will cover my new vintage comp

Ralph Rees, Editor, VAST TI-99 Newsletter Hi, everyone and welcome to episode 58 of the Floppy Days Podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig.  To sort of finish off the TI-99 series of episodes I’ve been running, I have an interview-only show for you this month.  This interview is with Ralph Rees, president and newsletter editor of the VAlley of the Sun TI-99ers (VAST) back in the 1990’s.  He produced his high quality newsletter directly on a TI-99 system and received quite a few compliments about it while it was still being published.  Ralph still has an extensive TI-99 collection today. This interview was conducted on June 7, 2015. Links: The Western Horizon Technologies FTP server - ftp://ftp.whtech.com  

Welcome to this special episode of Floppy Days, live from Vintage Computer Festival Southeast 4.0!  A group of podcasters at the show got together and did this fun little podcast.  Learn more about the show and about your favorite podcasters.  

Welcome to episode 56 of the Floppy Days Podcast where old computers come to life again.  I’m Randy Kindig.  I want to thank Ian Baronofsky and Rick Reynolds for providing their thoughts and memories of the TI-99 computer.  This is the fifth and final installment in a series of episodes on the TI-99/4A home computer.  This episode will cover TI-99 ads, user groups and shows, emulation, buying one today, community, and Web sites.  My very special co-hosts for this episode are again two well-known figures in the TI-99 community: Chris Schneider, who produces the SHIFT838 newsletter and Rich Polivka, who manages the popular 99er.net Web site.  They provide a ton of information about the amazing TI-994/A home computer.  I hope you enjoy this. Links Mentioned in the Show: New Acquisitions Juiced.GS Apple II Newsletter - https://juiced.gs/ Commodore 64 Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner by Danny Davis - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0861611454/?tag=flodaypod-20 The ZX81 Pocket Book by Trevor Toms - http://www

Hello, welcome to Floppy Days Podcast #55.  This a special interview show to help get the word out about an upcoming event: Vintage Computer Festival Southeast version 4.  My special guest is Earl Baugh of the Atlanta Historical Computing Society.  He tells us all about the event, including special guest speakers that will be there, exhibits, gaming areas, a workshop where you can learn to solder and much more.  If you can make it to Roswell, Georgia, the weekend of April 2 & 3, 2016, I highly recommend that you drop in and enjoy the show. Links VCF East 4.0 - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-southeast-4-0/ Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/302393381/help-fund-the-vintage-computer-festival-southeast-1 

Hello and welcome to a special episode (#54) of the Floppy Days Podcast.  For this episode, I am announcing involvement in a new podcast that I’m very excited about.  Peter Cetinski, a well-known figure in the TRS-80 community as a result of some great software that he’s written for the platform, contacted me and others about doing a podcast about the TRS-80 line.  This is a major line of historically significant computers and has sorely needed its own podcast.  I wanted to help kick off the new podcast and promote it, so I invited all the members of the podcast to come onto Floppy Days and talk about it.  Please enjoy. Links Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/trs80trashtalk/ Web Site - http://www.trs80trashtalk.com/ Pete Cetinski’s TRS-80 Software Page - http://pski.net/category/retro/ Peter Bartlett’s Web Site - http://bartlettlabs.com/ Ian Mavric’s Web Site - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/

This is a special interview-only episode.  I’m very happy to announce that my special guest for this show is Don French, co-designer of the TRS-80 Model I computer and long-time Tandy employee.  Don has a long and storied history with Tandy.  The TRS-80 Model I, the machine that saved Tandy and spawned a long line of historically significant computers, was his brainchild.  He worked closely with Steve Leininger to develop the Model I.  In addition, you’ll hear that he worked with Bill Gates, Paul Allen and many other giants of the microcomputer industry.  I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I enjoyed talking with Don. Links “Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution” by Welsh, Theresa; Welsh, David (2011-02-23).  The Seeker Books. - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004P8JNIS/?tag=flodaypod-20 Q&A With Don French at Ira Goldklang's TRS-80 Revived Site - http://www.trs-80.com/wordpress/interviews/

Welcome to episode 52 of the Floppy Days Podcast where we talk about our beloved old computers like some guys talk about their old cars.  I’m Randy Kindig.  I want to thank Michael Glaser for providing his thoughts and memories of the TI-99 computer.  No, this hasn’t suddenly turned into a TI-99 podcast.  However, this IS the fourth in a series of what now will be 5 episodes on the TI-99/4A home computer.  There just turned out to be so much material on this very interesting machine and so much interest in the community, that this turned out to be quite an extended series.  Having already covered history and technical topics on previous episodes, I had originally intended this episode to cover everything from software and magazines to Web sites, but by the time my co-hosts and I had gotten through the material it turned out to be over 2 hours of audio and I decided to break it into 2 parts.  This episode will cover TI-99 software, books, magazines, ads and user groups while the next one will cover emulation a

The TI-99/4A - Tech Specs, Peripherals, Modern Upgrades with Tursi This show is a continuation of the on-going series about the TI-99/4A computer.  In the last couple of episodes, I had TI-99 fans Jim Fetzner and Mark Wills on the show and interviewed them about their experiences with the TI-99 and then we covered the history of the machine.  In this show, I have a new co-host, Mike Brent, better known as Tursi or Harmless Lion, the creator of the Classic 99 emulator and so much more.  After a short interview with Tursi, we discuss the technical aspects of the TI-99, including the tech specs, peripherals, modern upgrades, and connectivity to modern computers.  It’s an information-filled show, so I hope you enjoy it. Before we get into that, I’ll discuss a few new vintage computer-related acquisitions that have come my way, give you the scoop on upcoming shows, and share with you a few pieces of feedback I’ve received about the show from listeners. Links Mentioned in the Show: Intro Bill Degnan’s Vintage

The TI-99/4A - History, with Jim Fetzner and Mark Wills This is the second in a multi-part series on the TI-99/4A computer.  For this history segment, I was lucky enough to find a couple of people who have an incredible history with the TI-99, Jim Fetzner and Mark Wills.  Jim has an extensive, multilingual library of all things TI and possesses some very interesting hardware items related to the TI-99.  Mark is the author of TurboForth for the TI-99/4A and has been involved in the TI-99/4A scene pretty much since 1983.  He’s also English, living in the UK, so he has a rather British take on the home computer wars.  I will cover TI-99 history with the help of these two gentlemen.  I think you will find this very interesting! Links Mentioned in the Show: Intro Bill Degnan’s VintageComputer.net - http://www.vintagecomputer.net Bill Degnan’s “History of Commodore Computers” Poster - http://www.vintagecomputer.net/poster_detail.cfm New Acquisitions Tricky Tutorial #5 (Player/Missile Graphics for the Atari - htt

The TI-99/4A - History, Interview with Jim Fetzner and Mark Wills In the home computer timeline, I’m currently covering computers released in the era from 1979 to 1980.  Next up is the TI-99/4A.  When I went to research the TI-99 I found an incredible amount of information about the machine and an involved, vibrant community surrounding it.  As a result, I pulled in as many experts as I could find to be involved in providing information about this very interesting machine.  I got so much involvement, and found so much information, that I will be covering the TI-99 for the next several shows.  That will include the typical topics, such as history, tech specs, modern upgrades, emulation, Web sites and much more, as well as interviews with some TI luminaries.  As I typically like to cover the history of the machine first, that will be the topic of the first couple of shows.  For the history segment, I was lucky enough to find a couple of people who have an incredible history with the TI-99, Jim Fetzner and Mark

Welcome to a special interview-only episode of the Floppy Days Podcast.  For this show, we have an interview conducted by Kevin Savetz, interviewer-extraordinaire from the Antic Podcast.  Kevin conducted this interview 2 years ago.  Since the interviewee and topic are not Atari-related, but are very much vintage computer related, Kevin and I thought perhaps Floppy Days would be a good medium for publishing this interview. Wayne Green, Computer Magazine Publisher Wayne Green was founder of 73 magazine; Byte magazine; Kilobyte, which became Kilobaud, then Kilobaud Microcomputing; 80 Micro magazine for the TRS-80; Hot Coco for the TRS-80 Color Computer; Run for the Commodore 64, inCider magazine for the Apple II; and several other computer magazines.   This interview took place over Skype on January 29, 2013, when I was doing research for a book about the very first personal computer magazines — Byte, Kilobyte, and Creative Computing. Although I've decided not to write the book, I am publishing the interviews

This episode is part 3 of a 3-part series on the Tandy Color Computer, also known as the CoCo.  I have special guest hosts to help me again this month: John Linville and Neil Blanchard of the “CoCo Crew Podcast”.  Join us as we discuss Coco magazines, books, software, modern upgrades, emulation, Web sites and much more.  I also go over my new acquisitions, tell you about upcoming vintage computer shows and cover some podcast feedback. Finally, we also have audio segments from no less than 4 different CoCo fans who share with us their memories and thoughts about the Tandy Color Computer.  Thank you to Michael Moore, Rick Adams, Jon Day, and Tony Cappellini for your contributions. Note that Floppy Days now has a Facebook page where you can discuss the show or vintage computers in general.  Search for “Floppy Days” on Facebook. Links Mentioned in the Show: Intro Bill Degnan’s Historical Computers and Vintage Computer Restoration - http://www.vintagecomputer.net “History of Commodore Computers” poster by Bill

This episode is part 2 of a 3-part series on the Tandy Color Computer, also known as the CoCo.  I have special guest hosts to help me this month: John Linville and Neil Blanchard of the “CoCo Crew Podcast”.  Join us as we discuss Coco tech specs, peripherals and pulling it out of the box.   I also go over my new acquisitions, a short overview of VCF Midwest 10 that occurred on August 29 & 30, tell you about upcoming vintage computer shows and cover some podcast feedback.   Links Mentioned in the Show:   Intro “CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer” by Boisy G Pitre, Bill Loguidice - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1466592478/?tag=flodaypod-20 New Acquisitions Atlanta Historical Computing Society (AHCS) - http://atlhcs.org/ HP-85B - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_series_80 VCF Midwest 10 - http://vcfmw.org/ Peter Bartlett’s Model I System Expander (MISE) - http://bartlettlabs.com/ Ian Mavric’s FreHD Hard Drive Emulator - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/emulator

Hello, welcome to a bonus interview-only edition of the Floppy Days Podcast, the podcast about the obsolete computers of the late 70’s through the 80’s, but which we love anyway.  I’m Randy Kindig, the person who brings you this nostalgia on a monthly basis.  I’ve had many vintage computer authors on Floppy Days in the past and I like to discuss new books when they come out, one: because books on vintage computing are rare and two: I like to help and encourage new books on my favorite hobby.  My special guest today is Evan Koblentz. Evan’s here to discuss his new book, “From the abacus to smartphone: The evolution of mobile and portable computers.”  Evan will tell you all about why you should run, not walk, and go get this interesting book.  Enjoy!   Links Evan’s Web Site - http://www.snarc.net/ Book Web Site - http://abacustosmartphone.com

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Floppy Days, the show about home computers of the late 70’s through the 80’s.  The next machine up to cover on the timeline is the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer, affectionately known as the CoCo.  Since there’s SOO much information to cover about this interesting machine, it will be a multi-parter, with the first episode covering the history of the CoCo.  I was lucky enough to get one of the authors of THE CoCo history book, my good friend Boisy Pitre, to come on the show and co-host this with me.  We’re going to cover the history of the CoCo from before its inception, through its introduction, until its eventual cancellation.  Boisy provides a fantastic perspective on the life and career of this machine and I think you’ll enjoy it.   Before delving into the main part of the show, I’ll cover a little bit of news, new acquisitions and feedback. Links Mentioned in the Show:   New Acquisitions FreHD - http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/trs80/emulator BEST

Hello, welcome to the Floppy Days Podcast.  My name is Randy Kindig and this a special interview show to help get the word out about an upcoming event: Vintage Computer Festival Midwest.  This will be the tenth 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 Chicago, IL the weekend of August 29 & 30, 2015, I highly recommend that you drop in and enjoy the show.   Links   VCF Midwest home page - http://vcfmw.org VCF Midwest Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/events/820722747964784 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 - http://www.gofundme.com/vcfmw10  

The TRS-80 Model III and 4   On the personal computer timeline, we’re currently in the 1979 to 1980 time frame.  I do apologize that this month’s topic, the TRS-80 Model III and 4, is being presented slightly out of order in that there were a couple of machines introduced a little prior to this that I plan to cover.  However, as I already had this one recorded I decided to present it now rather than hold up publishing an episode just to maintain a precise order.   As usual, I have a short preamble before we get into this month’s topic, covering new acquisitions, upcoming shows, and a little bit of feedback.   I was lucky enough to get author and vintage computer collector Michael Nadeau to agree to co-host this episode with me, so this should be a fun and interesting episode.   Links Mentioned in the Show:   News New book from Evan Koblentz "Abacus to smartphone, The evolution of mobile and portable computers” - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1514810301/?tag=flodaypod-20, https://www.createspace.com/5596053

Jason Scott Presentation at VCF Southeast 3.0 in Roswell, GA, May 2, 2015.   This is the Floppy Days Podcast on vintage computing and my name is Randy Kindig.  This is a special episode featuring Jason Scott of archive.org fame.  Many of you will be familiar with Jason Scott and the work he does in helping to preserve media and content, including content associated with our beloved vintage computers.  You may or may not be as familiar with the work also being done to emulate vintage computers and vintage gaming platforms in a browser.   On May 2, 2015 Jason Scott gave a presentation to the crowd at VCF Southeast entitled “Every Computer in Your Browser-The Internet Archive Emulated Software Collection.”  Jason and the VCFSE organizers  were kind enough to agree to allow me to rebroadcast this presentation on Floppy Days to help get the word out about all the great work being done to preserve our machines.  Jason also had presentation material to go along with the talk that I am posting on the Floppy Days site

Welcome to part 3 of the now 3 part episode covering the Atari 400 & 800 computers.  This episode will cover Web sites, emulation, books, software, modern upgrades, connectivity to modern computers, and much more.  I’m very happy to have pretty much the entire Atari 8-bit podcasting group as special guest hosts helping me cover these topics.  This includes Wade from Inverse Atascii (http://inverseatascii.info/ ) , Rob of Player/Missile (http://playermissile.com/ ), Jack of RCR (http://rcrpodcast.com/ ), Kevin from Antic (http://ataripodcast.com/ ), and Brad from Antic (http://ataripodcast.com/ ).  Enjoy!!   Links Mentioned in the Show:   New Acquisitions “Atari Player-Missile Graphics in BASIC” by Philip C. Seyer - http://www.amazon.com/Atari-player-missile-graphics-BASIC-Philip/dp/0835901122 “All About the Commodore 64, Volume Two” by Craig Chamberlain - http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Commodore-Craig-Chamberlain/dp/0942386450 “Inside Atari DOS” Compiled by Bill Wilkinson, OSS - http://www.amazon.c