ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad Arnold
  • 5,0 (2)
  • Tekniknyheter
  • Varje månad

We cover Atari news, reviews, and a special feature each show for the Atari 8-bit line of computers (400/800/XL/XE/XEGS)

  1. −1 d

    ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer

    Steve Bryson, game programmer Steve Bryson was a programmer for EPYX and The Connelley Group, where he ported many games to various 8-bit systems. He ported Dragonriders of Pern, an action/strategy game based on the Anne McCaffrey novels, to Atari and Commodore 64. He ported Jumpman to the Apple II, and Lower Reaches of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Temple of Ra to the C64. This interview took place on August 5, 2026. Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/SdK56W9bd6Y Steve's personal web site: https://www.stevepur.com Randy Glover, Jumpman interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i171/i171-transcript.html Tom Zimmerman, AMY chip interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i431/i431-transcript.html Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i070/i070-transcript.html Dragonriders of Pern at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/a8b_Dragonriders_of_Pern_The_1983_Epyx_US Dragonriders of Pern at AtariMania: https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-dragonriders-of-pern_1723.html

  2. 15 aug.

    ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari

    Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari   Bob Fraser worked at Atari for four years: he worked on the early CX70 light pen, helped write the specs for an unreleased database manager for the Atari 8-bits. and later moved into Atari's Games Design Research Group under Alan Kay, where he experimented with 3-D graphics. He wrote a chapter of De Re Atari — chapter 7, all about sound — and two applications that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Supersort, a data sorting routine; and Insomnia, a sound editor. Supersort was APX catalog number 20030, and was for sale starting with the first APX catalog, summer 1981. Insomnia was catalog number 20073 and was available about six months later in the winter 1981 catalog. The CX70 light pen: it's rare — according to AtariWiki, it was only offered by Atari for a few months in 1981. After our interview, Bob sent me his: prototype #2. He also sent me a lot of floppy disks (around 70) which I was able to get the data off of. They include many of his 3-D rendering demonstrations, source code for an early version of the Ballsong demo, several early versions of Mike Lorenzen's MEDIT text editor, light pen software, internal development tools, and more. I've put them all online, have fun digging through them. This interview took place on June 10, 2026. Video version of this interview Download Bob's disks, and conversation about them Supersort in the summer 1981 APX catalog Supersort at Atarimania Insomnia in the winter 1981 APX catalog Insomnia at Atarimania  De Re Atari CX70 Light Pen at AtariWiki CX70 discussion at AtariAge Invest like a Billionaire by Bob Fraser Dale Yocum interview Chris Crawford interview Douglas Crockford interview

  3. 2 aug.

    ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System

    James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System James W. Burley is the programmer of Data Base/Report System, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange beginning with the Summer 1982 APX catalog. It was catalog number 20134 with a price of $22.95. APX sold it for about a year, through the Summer 1983 catalog. APX awarded Data Base/Report System first prize for new software in the "Business & Professional Applications/Personal Finance & Record Keeping" category: for that, James was awarded an Atari Star plaque and $2000 prize. (He received the plaque, but says he never received the money.) The software may have also been sold by Main Street Publishing. Here's what the APX catalog had to say: Data Base/Report System by James W. Burley Recommended for experienced data base users/Written in BASIC and machine language If you've ever used a data base manager on a large computer system, you'll appreciate the many features of DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM. This general-purpose system for ATARI 800 Home Computers creates and maintains records having up to ten units of information ("fields"), with a maximum field length of 100 characters and a maximum record length of 255 characters. The total number of records you can store varies with record key size, a key being the unique identifier for each record) and available computer memory. Generally, you can store about 1300 records having a five-character key on a system with 40K of memory. You use the main program to create a new file; add, update, and remove records; sort the file; and print reports. Auxiliary programs reorganize the data files to free unused diskette space; redefine the file by adding fields, modifying field sizes, or changing field headings; delete old files; and print special reports. ... These and other features make DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM a really versatile data base management system for your ATARI 800 Home Computer. REVIEW COMMENTS: You need some data base knowledge to use the program; it's a bit complex, but all the features are worthwhile. The print formatting and file reorganization features are very useful. The sort and search routines, written in assembly language, work quickly. In 1983, Antic magazine featured the program as one of the "Ten Best from APX". In 2024, Wade at the Inverse ATASCII podcast did a deep dive into Data Base/Report System: check the show notes for the link to that review, which includes dozens of screenshots, sample print output, and information about the database's file format. Wade gave the software a rating of 5 out of 8. As of this recording, the Atari community doesn't yet have a scan of the APX manual for Data Base/Report System: if you have a copy, let me know, or scan it and upload it to Internet Archive. The Main Street Publishing version — both disk and manual — are also not preserved. This interview took place on May 22, 2026. Data Base/Report System at AtariMania Data Base/Report System in the APX Summer 1982 APX catalog Antic Magazine - February 1983 - Ten Best from APX Inverse ATASCII reviews Data Base/Report System

  4. 19 juli

    ANTIC Interview 460 - Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette

    Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette with an Atari Computer Tim Jenkins is the author of several humorous memoirs: "Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way", "More Missions Accomplished: And a lot more funny business", and "Business Missions Accomplished: Silly travel tales on the corporate dime". I wanted to talk to Tim about one chapter in his 2018 book More Missions Accomplished: the chapter is titled "Gaming the System" and it tells the tale of him trying to cheat a roulette using his Atari 800 computer. A brief excerpt from that chapter: "Las Vegas — 1989. Shortly after the dawn of the personal computer revolution, opportunity beckoned. Some people wrote software and sold it over retail counters. Others launched services that harnessed the databasing and processing power of the PC to help people find a job, a date, or other people with the same interests. I put my own Atari 800 computer to work simulating roulette. ... If you kept increasing your bet every time you lost a spin of the wheel, eventually your number would come up: The question was, would you earn back all the money you'd previously lost and make a profit? Yes. That is, you would if you did not first run into the table limit. ...  How to get there without hitting the max bet? That's what I set out to simulate on my Atari computer. ... The program showed this to be a winning strategy, if perfectly executed." This interview took place on May 22, 2025. More Missions Accomplished at amazon: https://amzn.to/446MrVP At Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moremissionsacco0000timj/page/138/mode/2up Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/EW-pDXlBDQg

  5. 5 juli

    ANTIC Interview 459 - Mike Lorenzen: Atari Program-Text Editor, Pitfall II

    Mike Lorenzen: Atari Program-Text Editor, Pitfall II Mike Lorenzen worked at Atari, Activision, and Accolade, creating games for the Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, and Commodore 64 computers. At Atari, Mike coded Golf and Circus Atari for the Atari 2600. For the 8-bit computers, he wrote MEDIT (which he told me stands for Mike's EDITor.) Atari got a lot of mileage from MEDIT, using versions of that text editor in several products: first, in Atari Program-Text Editor (which was bundled with Atari's Macro Assembler), and in two Atari Program Exchange products: APX 20075, Atari Program-Text Editor; and APX 20076: Word Processing Diskette, where it was bundled with a text formatter. Both Program-Text Editor and Word Processing Diskette first appeared in the Winter 1981 APX catalog (the second APX catalog) with a price of $39.95 for Program-Text Editor and $49.95 for Word Processing Diskette — relatively hefty prices, considering the median price for software in that catalog was just $17.95. At Activision, he ported Pitfall and Pitfall II Lost Caverns to the Atari 8-bit — and in that, created the undocumented Easter egg of an additional game inside: Pitfall III, which appears only in the Atari 8-bit version. At Accolade, Mike developed the game "Psi-5 Trading Company" for the C64, which he called "the most sophisticated Commodore 64 program ever written". This interview took place on June 4, 2026. Software mentioned: Macro Assembler and Program-Text Editor at AtariMania APX 20075: Atari Program-Text Editor at AtariMania APX 20076: Word Processing Diskette at AtariMania Pitfall at AtariMania Pitfall II Lost Caverns at AtariMania People mentioned: Scott Scheiman interview Dale Yocum interview Chris Crawford interview Fred Thorlin interview Brad Fregger on Lorenzen's overwork More information: Inverse ATASCII reviews APX Program-Text Editor AtariWiki on Program-Text Editor Psi-5 Trading Company

  6. 30 juni

    ANTIC Episode 129 - SDX and FNSlots

    ANTIC Episode 129 - SDX and FNSlots In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast…Brad plays around with SDX, Kay and Randy bring you news from some vintage computer shows, we drool over all the new hardware news, and we bring you FujiNet news, including FNSlots… READY! Recurring Links  Floppy Days Podcast  AtariArchives.org  AtariMagazines.com  Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd"  New Atari books scans at archive.org  ANTIC feedback at AtariAge  Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge  Interview index: here  ANTIC Facebook Page  AHCS  Eaten By a Grue  Next Without For  What we've been up to Box of stuff from Bob Fraser Light pen - https://atari8bitads.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-light-pen-is-here-and-now-its-gone.html  Disks! Six early versions of MEDIT - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/381770-source-code-for-editorassembler-and-programtext-editor-released/#findComment-5854788  Prerelease version of DOS 2.0S - https://github.com/savetz/ballsong  INIT HELLO https://init-hello.org/ at System Source Computer Museum https://museum.syssrc.com/ Print Slop https://www.savetz.com/print-shop-camera/atari.html discussion at https://forums.atariage.com/topic/324752-print-shop-atari-related-graphics/#comment-5854339  ANTIC Interview Transcripts site - https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/ SDX - https://sdx.atari8.info/index.php  VCF SW -  https://www.vcfsw.org/  National Videogame Museum - https://www.nvmusa.org  ABBUC - https://www.abbuc.de  Recent Interviews ANTIC Interview 457 - Atari at the Science Fair: Lisa Link Melville, Weather Prediction ANTIC Interview 458 - Allan Bushman, Atari archivist New & Updated Games EDGE: Eight-bit D*****! Game Engine - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390906-edge-eight-bit-d-game-engine/  Delete Me Hard by ilmenit: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390965-delete-me-hard/  Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGQCR9spQns  New & Updated Software FNSlots: Save and restore your disk slot configurations - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390713-fnslots-save-and-restore-your-disk-slot-configurations/  CrustyBASIC, a BASIC cross-compiler for 1980s machines, including Atari 2600 console and Atari 8bit computers. Runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux - https://telengard.itch.io/crustybasic  TinyBASIC https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390807-back-to-tinybasics-after-50-years-finally-got-around-to-writing-a-tinybasic-for-atari-8-bit/ https://unfinishedbitness.info/2026/05/31/scriptee/ - Wade Ripkowski Publications Atari Insights - https://www.ataribasics.com - June, 2026 issue  Compute's Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com - May, 2026  The download files for ABBUC Issue 164 (1Q2026) and two disk images -  https://abbuc.de/members/download/ABBUC-Magazines/Magazine-164/index.html  Atari Legacy https://atarilegacy.com  taking preorders now at website - https://retrolemon.co.uk/atari-magazines/280-atari-legacy-01.html  New & Updated Hardware Revive Machines RM 800XL update - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Co44Q7w9B/  The Atari XT: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391150-the-atari-xt/  https://atari-xt.com/  Project Thunder: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390511-project-thunder/  https://github.com/scrameta/tonnere  Blue2Joy - Bluetooth Adapter for Atari 8-bit - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390643-blue2joy-bluetooth-adapter-for-atari-8-bit/  GE IFM Interface Module for cassette recorders to Atari or C64 - https://www.ebay.com/itm/127924405327  The Company That Calls Itself Atari "This downtown Phoenix radio landmark has been marked for death" - https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts-culture/koy-building-demolition-plan-phoenix-atari-hotel-40671854/  https://gameworldobserver.com/2026/06/01/atari-just-got-bigger-it-has-acquired-the-creators-of-crossy-road  Other The Brewing Academy Inventory has been SOLD! - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390695-all-brewing-academy-inventory-is-being-sold-please-read-for-details/  https://www.reddit.com/r/OldTech/s/K70gojiubH  https://www.atarinside.com/blog/index.php/atari-france/interview-jean-richen/  Atarium the Atari Encyclopedia: https://atarium.mycomuapp.com/  https://www.producthunt.com/products/atarium  FujiNet Getting Started Guide for ATARI: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390896-fujinet-getting-started-guide-for-atari/  https://github.com/FujiNetWIFI/fujinet-manuals/blob/main/atari/owners_guide_400_800/fujinet-owners-guide-400-800.pdf  Upcoming Shows Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/  Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026  Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/  Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 -  Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Event page on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  New at Archive.org  https://archive.org/details/axlon-ramdisk-128k-atari-800/ https://archive.org/details/xio-3-garden-city-atari-computer-enthusiasts-newsletter-november-december-1995  https://archive.org/details/xio-3-garden-city-atari-computer-enthusiasts-newsletter-january-february-1996 https://archive.org/details/xio-3-garden-city-atari-computer-enthusiasts-newsletter-july-august-1995  https://archive.org/details/twaug-newsletter-13/ https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-june-1985-images/ https://archive.org/details/computer-shopper-may-1985-images https://archive.org/details/kluwer-leren-omgaan-met-de-atari-600-xl-800-xl-d.-b.-baarda-a.-van-londen  YouTube Videos Atari 1200XL with DVI/HDMI and digital audio - FlashJazzCat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd1hY0G29xU  Atari XL/XE with PokeyMax: Tony Montezuma's Gold - DEMO - Piotr D. Kaczorowski - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTPbdqkiYUg  RM 800XL. The final countdown… - Serenity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78HOxGcyrsI  Will AI Take Over Retro Game Development? We Play Every Atari AI Made Game! - ZeroPage Homebrew - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MIrI2t1Pec  New at Github https://github.com/JeremyJStarcher/yahtzee-a8  https://github.com/CycoPH/PokeyForge  192p Test Suite:  https://github.com/HanJammer/192p_Test_Suite  https://forums.atariage.com/topic/390987-192p-test-suite-my-first-6502-assembly-project/  https://github.com/mikolajmikolajczyk/madside

  7. 21 juni

    ANTIC Interview 458 - Allan Bushman, Atari archivist

    Allan Bushman, Atari Archivist If you've ever looked up an Atari computer manual at Internet Archive, chances are you've come across some of Allan Bushman's scans. For well over 13 years, Allan has been uploading scans of Atari-related catalogs, manuals, and books to the archive. Before that, since 1995 or before, Allan contributed to AtariMagazines.com and AtariMania. With a particular emphasis on finding and archiving Atari Program Exchange manuals, Allan has helped save the vast majority of the APX library. This interview took place on April 19 2026 at Vintage Computer Festival East. As of this recording, only 10 or so APX manuals have yet to be found and scanned. Basic Renumber Utility (Renum) Character Set Editor Database/Report System Diskmenu Home Loan Analysis Reversi/Roman Checkers Basic Arithmetic (MECC) Geography (MECC) Market Place (MECC) Gossip (unreleased?) Dragons Quest or a Twist in the Tail (unreleased?) Allan's scans at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/@allan52 Computer Shopper magazine Atari Articles: https://archive.org/details/@allan52?query=computer+shopper+atari+articles Allan on AtariAge: https://forums.atariage.com/profile/187-allan/

  8. 6 juni

    ANTIC Interview 457 - Atari at the Science Fair: Lisa Link Melville, Weather Prediction

    Atari at the Science Fair: Lisa Link Melville, Weather Prediction The Herald Times newspaper, April 17 1984: "March 24 proved to be an exciting day for several area students participating in the South Central Indiana Regional Science Fair which was held in Bloomington. Lisa Link, an Edgewood High School junior, and Maxwell Brothers, a Bloomington North senior, took top honors in the advanced division. Programming an Atari 800 computer to forecast the weather was Link's project. The computer's entire 48K memory system was needed to develop the long and complicated program which predicts Bloomington's weather with an 88 percent rate of accuracy. Twelve variables are programmed into the computer which then forecasts the weather using such variables including temperature, cloud cover, rainfall, wind speed and barometric pressure. Link, though not presently enrolled in any science classes at Edgewood, went on to take not only top honors in the Regional Science Fair but also to win certificates of recognition from NASA and the Army as well as second place for best project by the Navy." An article a month later in The Newark Advocate said: "during a 17-day period in February and March, Miss Link said she accurately forecast the weather on 15 days." Her project garnered several awards: second place in her division from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (which included a prize of $100), an Air Force honorable mention, and honorable mention from the American Meteorological Society. My interview with Lisa Link Melville took place on May 31 2026. Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/nqJV_--YVkM

Visa alla (597)

Betyg och recensioner

5
av 5
2 betyg

Om

We cover Atari news, reviews, and a special feature each show for the Atari 8-bit line of computers (400/800/XL/XE/XEGS)

Information

  • Skapad av
    Randy Kindig, Kay Savetz, Brad Arnold
  • Aktiva år
    2013 - 2026
  • Avsnitt
    597
  • Åldersgräns
    Barnvänligt
  • Programmets webbplats
    ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Du kanske också gillar