ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Tandy Trower, Atari product manager   Tandy Trower started at Atari evaluating software titles, then moved on to the position of product manager, managing new titles including Missile Command, Asteroids, and the port of Microsoft BASIC for the Atari. Then, he left Atari for Microsoft, where — once again, he managed Microsoft BASIC for the Atari. Tandy also wrote the Character Set Editor program wh...

Tim McGuinness, Atari Senior Research Engineer and Founder of ROMOX   Tim McGuinness was a Hardware Design Engineer in Atari’s Personal Computer Division in 1980 and 1981, then moved to become Senior Research Engineer/Assistant Director of Corporate Research Engineering through 1982. Tim was co-developer of 400, 800, and 1200XL computers and peripherals. He was also the initial architect and desig...

Steve Davis, Director of Advanced Research   Steve Davis worked in Atari’s advanced research lab under Alan Kay, for 5 or 6 years, where he worked on several skunkworks projects including a laserdisc player controlled by an Atari 800, an Atari 800-based local area network, and artificial intelligence projects.   This interview occurred May 11, 2015.   Teaser quote:   “I winded around the building,...

This is an interview episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig and in this interview I sat down with one of the members of the core design team at Cyan Engineering for such projects as the Atari 2600 and the 8-bit computers, Mr. Ron Milner. Ron is currently President of Applied Design Laboratories, but from 1973-1984, as an employee of Atari Inc, he worked at the Grass Valley Th...

Joe Villalobos, Materials Planner for Atari   Boxes! Your Atari computers and game cartridges came in boxes! Someone was responsible for producing those boxes. Joe was the guy.   Joe Villalobos was materials planner at Atari in El Paso, Texas from 1980 – 1982. He was responsible for the planning and expediting of materials used in the production of video game cartridges.   This interview took plac...

Ed Rotberg, Rotberg Synthesizer   Ed Rotberg worked programmer in Atari’s coin-op division, where he worked on Atari Baseball, Battlezone, Blasteroids, Hard Drivin’, and other coin-op games. He consulted for the Atari consumer side, where he created demos for the Atari 800 — including working on the music for the in-store demo — and the Rotberg Synthesizer music software.   Check the show notes at...

On this episode of ANTIC the atari 8-bit podcast: Randy delves into Altirra BASIC, there’s another podcast to dilute our listenership, Kevin reports back from KansasFest, and there’s lots of new Atari stuff to download at Archive.org.   Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kevins Book “Terrible Nerd” New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAg...

Hello, and welcome to a very special interview-only episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit podcast.  I am Randy Kindig, one of your hosts for this podcast.  I say “special” because it’s not often that you get a chance to talk with an icon like the one we talk with today.  Kevin Savetz and myself were given the chance to sit down, so to speak, with “Mr. Atari” Nolan Bushnell and spend a few minutes shoo...

Jon Freeman   Jon Freeman was co-founder of the computer game publisher Automated Simulations, which became EPYX. At Automated Simulations, he co-created Starfleet Orion and Gateway to Apshai. Then he and his wife Anne Westfall started the game development company FreeFall Associates, where they created Tax Dodge, Archon, Archon II, and Murder on the Zinderneuf.   This interview took place April 2...

ANTIC Special Episode - Atari Summer Camp   Let's go to Atari Summer Camp! A special episode.   Links   Today Show clip   The Magic Room Movie   The Magic Room Trailer   ANTIC magazine article   Atari Connection article   Bob Kahn's Atari Special Projects page   Atari Computer Camps curriculum, software, and ephemera

Lloyd Speyer, Batteries Included Lloyd Speyer worked for Batteries Included from 1983 to 1987, where he worked with Commodore PETs, 64, Apple ][, Macintosh, as well as the Atari 800. He built hardware dongles, demonstrated products in the retail store, and worked in quality assurance, where he beta tested PaperClip and HomePak. This interview was conducted April 27, 2015. Teaser quote: “The Atari...

Thomas Renbarger, Dorsett Educational Systems Thomas Renbarger worked at Dorsett Educational Systems from 1978 through 1980, where he converted audio and filmstrip based educational programs to computer graphics and text for the TRS-80 and Atari 400 and 800 computers. This interview took place April 21, 2015. Teaser quote: “Smart, nerdy people might be interested in something just because it says...

Ted Richards, Atari Connection Magazine   Ted Richards was Editor In Chief of Atari Connection magazine, Atari’s in-house computer magazine; and was Marketing Communications Manager for Atari Home Computers, where he worked on print and package design, from 1981 to 1984.   This interview took place on April 19, 2015.   Links:   Atari Connection Magazine scans   40 Year Old Hippie Brings The Comput...

Peter Liepa, Boulder Dash   Peter Liepa was co-creator and programmer of Boulder Dash and Boulder Dash 2 for the Atari computers. Boulder Dash was published by First Star Software in 1984 and is regarded as a seminal game for the Atari 8-bit machines.   This interview took place on June 16, 2015   Teaser quotes: “I sat there playing these games and the idea of ‘I can do this’ or ‘I can build one o...

Steve Mayer, Atari 400/800 Designer   Hello and welcome to an interview-only episode of Antic, the Atari 8-bit computer podcast. Today I’m honored to be interviewing someone who was involved in the original design of the Atari 400 & 800 computers, Mr. Steve Mayer.  Steve worked with Joe Decuir (whom I interviewed in an earlier episode), Jay Miner, and others on the Candy & Colleen project and that...

On this episode of ANTIC the atari 8-bit podcast: We offer a library’s worth of geeky reading material, and - -  did we just start a book club? Randy delves into another programming language We talk about a couple of competitions that will give you something to do through these summer months Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kevins Book “Terrible Nerd” New At...

Rebecca Heineman, Racing Destruction Set and Mindshadow   Rebecca Heineman was the keynote speaker at Kansasfest 2015, where she told all sorts of amazing stories about her Apple II development work. She developed Tass Times in Tonetown, Bard's Tale III, Borrowed Time, Battle Chess, Crystal Quest, and many other games for many platforms. She ported Racing Destruction Set and Mindshadow to the Atar...

Bill Bartlett, Product Support Manager   Bill Bartlett worked at Atari from 1981 through 1984, where he was a product support manager for the Atari home computer division, also did user group support. He also wrote the Diskette Mailing List program which was sold by Atari Program Exchange.   This interview took place on April 16 2015, in person at a supermarket deli in the Portland Oregon area. I...

Bill Crooks, Atari Video Production Lab   Bill Crooks worked in the coin-op division of Atari, where he facilitated the production of Atari games’ multi-million dollar television production facility, and worked on the FireFox laserdisc arcade game.   In this interview we talk briefly about Cassie Maas whom I have previously interviewed.   This interview took place on April 17 2015.   “We had Clint...

Ron and Lynn Marcuse, productivity applications   Ron and Lynn Marcuse, also known as RLM Microsystems, are the husband-and-wife team who created many applications for the Atari 8-bit computers, including Weekly Planner, Home Inventory, Data Management System, Diskette Librarian, and Utility Diskette II, which were all released by Atari Program Exchange. Weekly Planner was later reworked and becam...

Albert Yarusso, Owner AtariAge   This is Antic, the Atari 8-bit podcast, and I’m Randy Kindig.  This interview-only episode features someone that many current Atari, vintage gaming, and vintage computer enthusiasts are probably familiar with by the service that he provides to the community, the AtariAge Website.  Albert (or Al) Yarusso is one of the founders and is the current owner of AtariAge.  ...

Jon Greer, Business Reporter   In this interview, we’ll hear the perspective of an Atari outsider — a newspaper reporter who covered Atari. Jon Greer was a business reporter for the San Jose Mercury News newspaper from 1981 to 1986, and business reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1986 to 1988. As part of his beat, he covered Atari; Chuck E. Cheese; and Catalyst Technologies, Nolan Bushn...

Jess Jessop   Jess Jessop was a software engineer at Commodore, writing diagnostics for the Commodore 64. Then at Atari, he started in the test and repair group for the Atari 400 and 800 SALT diagnostic cartridge, then moved to corporate research, Atari's R&D department under Alan Kay, where he was hardware team leader for the Sierra Project, Atari's unfinished laptop product.   This interview occ...

On this episode of ANTIC the atari 8-bit podcast: We discuss new atari archive sites. Randy tells us all about BASIC XL Kevin delves into the sordid history of DorsETT Educational Systems Bill Kendrick fills us in on  a panoply of stuff, including a brain transplant for your 8-bit.   Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kevins Book “Terrible Nerd” New Atari book...

Thomas Cherryhomes   Thomas Cherryhomes recently deciphered the Educational System Master Cartridge and decoded the “talk and teach” system used by Dorsett Educational Systems. He has created a C library called eduendcode which allows people to create new lessons using that format. Thomas and I are currently working to digitize and archive 46 sets of Dorsett courses.   To hear some background abou...