Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast

Interview with Karl Hornell - C64 Game Developer, Cartoonist, Author Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   Hello, and welcome to episode 155 of the Floppy Days Podcast for September, 2025!  I’m Randy Kindig, your host for this podcast, where we talk about the computers that got many of us started in our careers and which still hold a lot of interest for us today. This month, I’m bringing you another interesting interview with someone who at an early age started developing commercial-grade software for the Commodore 64, which started him on an amazing trajectory with his career in software development, cartoonist, and more.  His latest efforts include branching out into writing science fiction, which we will also discuss today. The person I’m referring to is Karl Hornell (Her-NELL). It’s also an interesting story around how this interview opportunity came to me.  I’m not used to getting contacted by an ad agency.  This one indicated that their client, Karl, had just recently published a book and was looking for ways to advertise the book.  They suggested that Floppy Days would be a great fit based on Karl’s background and could be beneficial for both.  I was skeptical at first, as I always am when I receive unsolicited, possibly spam email.  However, once I researched Karl’s background it became clear that he was an accomplished Swedish developer for the C64 back in the day, with some notariety.  I felt his background might indeed be of interest to you, the listeners, and so happily agreed to interviewing Karl for the podcast.  I hope you enjoy Karl’s story and will consider taking a look at his new book. New Acquisitions and What I’ve Been Up To Atari Bit Byter User Club (ABBUC) - https://www.abbuc.de  VCFMW - https://vcfmw.org/  Atari TT030 at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_TT030  David Anderson’s Timex Sinclair sites: https://andertone.com/  https://www.timexsinclair.com/  News Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer - https://archive.org/details/stan-veits-history-of-the-personal-computer/mode/2up  David Greelish’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TheComputerHistorian  Early chapters (1-9) of Stan Veit’s book via audio - https://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html  Floppy Days YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@floppydayspodcast  Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net  World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/  Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/  Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUdQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Interview Links Karl at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_H%C3%B6rnell  Vic-Rapport Magazine (Wikipedia) - https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIC-rapport  “Generation 64 - How the Commodore 64 Inspired a Generation of Swedish Gamers” by Bitmap Books - https://amzn.to/3YUUlQ5 (affiliate link) Karl Hornell’s Applet Center - http://www.javaonthebrain.com/  Retro Gamer Magazine #130 with Karl interview - https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20130/page/92/mode/2up  “Singularity Minus Twelve” book - https://amzn.to/3S8Yr3r (affiliate link) Savage Dragonbert - https://wiki.savagedragon.com/comics/savage_dragonbert_full_frontal_nerdity_01/   

Floppy Days 154 - Interview with Chuck Mauro, Part 2 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   New Acquisitions and What I’ve Been Up To TI-55 9-Volt Battery Mod  9V Battery Clip Connectors from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Clip-Hard-Electronics-I-Type/dp/B0DRZWN3BN  YouTube video that talks about and shows the modification - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G-OucjNgTk  New Compute’s Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com/  C64 Ultimate - https://www.commodore.net/  Chroma81 - http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/ZX81/Chroma/ChromaInterface_Availability.htm  Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net  World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Order Chuck’s book - https://books.by/Chuck-Mauro   

Floppy Days 153 - Interview with Chuck Mauro, Part 1 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   New Acquisitions and What I’ve Been Up To KFest - https://www.kansasfest.org  CoCo 5V USB adapter - Tim Halloran: Tryout Cable at GitHub - https://github.com/hallorant/bigmit/tree/master/coco2usb#trying-out-the-usb-mod-with-the-tryout-cable  Tim did a talk at Tandy Assembly 2021. You can find the slides here - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19PG-rJjY0_h8iO4LEgI_-lZHJsW6ekmSQ-hHDLxJ2CU/edit?usp=sharing  Video of USB Conversion by Tim - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfa4Db2OwE8  Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/2025/03/05/vcf-west-2025-save-the-date/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Order Chuck’s book - https://books.by/Chuck-Mauro   

HP-97/67 Programmable Calculator, Part 3 With Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   FutureVision Research  Videos of this and other episodes at the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6DQ3cyp8h373H0lXSJ8yqQ  Hello, and welcome to episode 152 of the Floppy Days Podcast for June, 2025.  My name is Randy Kindig and I’m the host for this lovefest for vintage computers and programmable calculators from the late 70’s thru the 80’s.  If you love old computers, you’ve found the right place! This month, I’m completing the ongoing series of episodes about the HP 97/67 programmable calculators.  This is the third and final in the series that provides us with a terrific co-host who is able to provide a lot of color about these machines: that being HP calculator historian Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz (“Vwahdek Meer-Yeng SHAY of itch”).  No one knows more about HP calculators than Wlodek and all of us are honored to get his insight into these HP calculator gems. New Acquisitions HP History Book by Wlodek - “A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers” - https://amzn.to/4hl1Yq1 (affiliate link)  PalmPilot Personal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PalmPilot  Upcoming Shows KansasFest - July 18-20 - Virtual only - https://www.kansasfest.org/  INIT HELLO Apple II Conference - July 26-27 - System Source Computer Museum in Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/  VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/2025/03/05/vcf-west-2025-save-the-date/  Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Feedback (videos) “A 67 or 97 is a good deal” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z8UiZz2Bm0  “Coca cola” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FN5eCvkoPM  Season's greetings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=libGuLCyikY  Some examples of words you could show - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jXGb-CR1Tg  HP Poem expressing sadness the early HP's had been discontinued - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMuMz623ub4  Books manuals - Can purchase document set on USB stick - https://www.hpmuseum.org/cd/cddesc.htm  Better Programming on the HP-67 & 97 by Richard Nelson, Kolb, Kennedy - http://www.hp41.org/LibView.cfm?Command=Image&ItemID=94&FileID=2325  Wlodek’s book - A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers - https://amzn.to/4hl1Yq1 (affiliate link)  RCL40: Recollection, Reinvention and HP Calculators - RCL40: Recollection, Reinvention and HP Calculators  Software Software available from collection at Museum of HP Calculators  - https://www.hpmuseum.org/cd/cddesc.htm  Emulators HP Calculator Simulators - https://www.cuveesoft.ch/  RPN-67/97 Pro - Apple App Store - (iOS) itms://itunes.apple.com/app/rpn-97-pro/id816249055  HP-97 Emulator by Michael O’Shea (Windows): HP-97 - https://www.limpidfox.com/hp97.htm  HP-67 - https://www.limpidfox.com/hp67.htm  HP-97 Emulator by Michael O’Shea (Android, iOS) - https://www.limpidfox.com  Buying One Today Getting one repaired: waterhosko (Mark Hoskins) - https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?item=324196333178&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211&_ssn=waterhosko  Mainely Calculators (Adam Jones) - https://www.ebay.com/str/mainelycalculator?_trksid=p4429486.m145687.l149267  Modern Upgrades Replacement CPU Boards for HP-67 and HP-97 - https://www.Teenix.org  Community Facebook HP Calculator Fan Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hpcalculatorclub  Real Engineers Use HP Handheld Calculators - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hpcalc  Forums The Museum of HP Calculators - https://hpmuseum.org/forum/index.php  Reddit HPCalc - https://www.reddit.com/r/hpcalc/  Current Web Sites and Videos Article in Byte Magazine, Vol. 3 No. 6 - https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1978-06/page/n113/mode/1up  Article in HP Journal on the HP-67/97 - http://hparchive.com/Journals/HPJ-1976-11.pdf  HHC 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, showing off RPN-97 Pro - https://www.cuveesoft.ch/rpn67/img/RPN-97HHC.mp4  HP - https://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/personalsystems/0041/index.html   Eric Rechlin's hpcalc.org - http://www.hpcalc.org  Craig Finseth's HPDATABase - http://www.finseth.com/hpdata/  The Hewlett Packard Calculator Page by Rick Furr - http://www.vcalc.net/hp.htm  The Calculators of HP poster - https://www.vcalc.net/poster.htm#hp  series of articles by Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz. They were published in DATAFILE - https://www.vcalc.net/hp-jhi.htm  Old HP and TI Calculators by Gene Wright - http://www.rskey.org/gene/hpgene/  HP Calculator Internals - http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/hpcalc/  HP-97 at rskey.org - https://www.rskey.org/hp97  References Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-67/97#67  Museum of HP Calculators (David Hicks) - https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp6797.htm   

Interview with James Nagle, Reboot of Compute’s Gazette Magazine Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   Hello, and welcome to episode 151 of the Floppy Days Podcast for May, 2025.  My name is Randy Kindig and I’m the host for this ode to computers that only survive in our memories and our collections. This month, I’m continuing to step aside from the ongoing series of episodes about the HP 97/67 programmable calculators to bring you a timely interview that basically constitutes current news.  I don’t often do this, but this news was so exciting to me that I wanted to bring this to all my listeners as soon as possible.  The interviewee is James Nagle and the topic is the sudden and welcome news that James is planning to revive the iconic Compute! magazine under the equally-iconic name Compute’s Gazette.  I hope you’ll stick around to hear about James’ plans and are as excited as I am to find out where this goes. For upcoming shows, we do have one more episode in the series on the HP97 with HP calculator historian Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz (“Vwahdek Meer-Yeng SHAY of itch”).  I will air that episode very soon. New Acquisitions and What I’ve Been Up To C64OS - https://c64os.com/  PiStorm: https://www.hackster.io/news/hands-on-with-the-pistorm-the-ultimate-raspberry-pi-powered-accelerator-for-your-commodore-amiga-449ef0634f3e  https://www.amigastore.com/pistorm-edition-amiga-p-91328.html  Quick Reference Book - https://floppydaysqr.my.canva.site/  Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows Retrofest 2025 - May 31-June1 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 21-22 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  KansasFest - July 18-20 - Virtual only - https://www.kansasfest.org/  INIT HELLO Apple II Conference - July 26-27 - System Source Computer Museum in Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/  Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 31-Aug. 3 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2025-se  VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/2025/03/05/vcf-west-2025-save-the-date/  Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Feedback HP-97S: https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp97s.htm https://www.johnwolff.id.au/calculators/laboratory/laboratory.htm Interview Links New Compute’s Gazette Website - https://www.computesgazette.com/ Compute’s Gazette collection at archive.org - https://archive.org/details/computes.gazette

Interview with David Greelish, Apple Lisa Documentary Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   Hello, and welcome to episode 150 of the Floppy Days Podcast for April, 2025.  My name is Randy Kindig and I’m the host for this journey through the annals of home computer history. This month, I’m going to step aside from the ongoing series of episodes about the HP 97/67 programmable calculators to bring you a timely interview with a good friend about an interesting topic.  That friend is David Greelish, a computer historian, and the topic is his recent publication of a film documentary about the Apple Lisa, called "Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa".  David tells us all about the film, why he produced it, why the Apple Lisa was an important part of home computer history, who he interviewed for the film (he had some amazing guests) and much more.  It’s a great film and should interest a lot of the listeners, so please consider going out and purchasing the film in order to support David’s efforts. For upcoming shows, we do have one more episode in the series on the HP97 with HP calculator historian Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz.  I will air that episode very soon. New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To Indy Classic Expo - https://www.indyclassic.org  Vintage Computer Center - https://www.vintagecomputercenter.com  OmniView 80 card for Atari 800 - https://archive.org/details/Atari_OMNIVIEW_manual  Commodore 16 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_16  6502 Plus 4 upgrade for C16 from Lotharek - (https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=257  News Reboot of Compute’s Gazette Magazine - https://www.computesgazette.com/iconic-computes-gazette-magazine-returns-after-35-years-expanding-focus-to-entire-retro-computing-community/  Upcoming Shows The 32nd Annual “Last” Chicago CoCoFEST! - May 2-3, 2025 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/  VCF Europe - May 3-4 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Retrofest 2025 - May 31-June1 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 21-22 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  KansasFest - July 18-20 - Virtual only - https://www.kansasfest.org/  VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/2025/03/05/vcf-west-2025-save-the-date/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Documentary and Classic Computing Links Classic Computing Website - https://www.classiccomputing.com/Classic_Computing/Blog/Blog.html  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psAeTDYezdo - "Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa" Full Documentary Film  Exidy Sorcerer at VCFSE 2 - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-episode-17-the-exidy-sorcerer-live-from-vcfse-20  Stan Veit podcast - https://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html  Classic Computing - the book! - https://www.classiccomputing.com/Classic_Computing/My_Book.html  Documentary link at IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31122934/   

The HP97 Programmable Calculator - Part 2 - With Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays  Video version of the episode at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6DQ3cyp8h373H0lXSJ8yqQ  Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   FutureVision Research  New Acquisitions 1027 print heads - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/271589-revive1027-order-thread/  ABBUC (Atari Bit-Byter Users Club) - https://www.abbuc.de  Best Electronics - https://www.best-electronics-ca.com/  inexpensive keyboard available on Amazon (for domes) - https://amzn.to/3FU9ASx  “Atari 400/800 Student Pilot Reference Guide” by Atari - https://archive.org/details/atari_pilot-student-guide  PortaCoCo - https://portacoco.com/  Tim Halloran video on making an adapter that allows you to run much of your CoCo off of battery - https://youtu.be/6UN1XvJG-bs  Ian Mavric’s TRS-80 store - https://www.ebay.com/str/trs80universe  Upcoming Shows Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ VCF East - April 4-6, 2025 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  The Commodore Los Angeles Super Show - April 26-27 - Burbank VFW Hall, Burbank, CA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=class:start  The 32nd Annual “Last” Chicago CoCoFEST! - May 2-3, 2025 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/  VCF Europe - May 3-4 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Retrofest 2025 - May 31-June1 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 21-22 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  KansasFest - July 18-20 - Virtual only - https://www.kansasfest.org/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  User Groups HP Handheld Conference - annual conference in the US: Website - https://hhuc.us/  YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@hpcalc  HHC 2024 USB Drive - https://commerce.hpcalc.org/hhcusb.php  Handheld and Portable Computer Club - https://www.hpcc.org/  Magazines/Newsletters HPX Exchange - http://www.hp41.org/LibView.cfm?Command=List&CategoryID=9  Hewlett Packard Journal: journals - http://www.hp41.org/LibView.cfm?Command=List&CategoryID=7  contents - https://www.vcalc.net/hp-jrnl.htm#JOURNAL  Hewlett Packard Personal Calculator Digest Vol. 1, 1976 - (contents) - https://www.vcalc.net/hp-jrnl.htm#DIGEST  HP KEYNOTES - https://www.vcalc.net/hp-jrnl.htm#KEY  PPC Journal - produced by the PPC group: http://www.hp41.org/LibView.cfm?Command=List&CategoryID=14  available on USB drive from Jake Schwartz’ PPC Archive - http://www.pahhc.org/ppccdrom.htm  Datafile, the HPCC club journal: https://www.hpcc.org/datafile/index.html  Back issues, excluding the current volume, are available on USB drive from Jake Schwartz - http://www.pahhc.org/ppccdrom.htm  References Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-67/97#67  Museum of HP Calculators (David Hicks) - https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp6797.htm   

HP-97 Programmable Calculator History and Memories with Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz and Everett Kaser  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research  Hello, and welcome to episode 148 of the Floppy Days Podcast for February, 2025, where computers of the late 70’s through the 80’s are the Apple of our eye!  (If you got that pun, then you’re in the right place 🙂) First off, I wanted to mention that this month is the 12th anniversary of the publication of the very first episode of Floppy Days way back in 2013.  That’s right: 12 YEARS!  A very small percentage of podcasts ever reach that sort of longevity.  I can only think of one other podcast that’s in my sphere of listening that has been regularly produced for that long or longer (Retro MacCast).  I should be so lucky to produce a podcast as long as the 18 years that James and John have done. There are several reasons I keep doing this.  I love talking about old computers, I love being able to interview incredible people that were actively part of the microcomputer revolution, I love feedback from listeners, and it keeps me out of trouble now that I’m retired from the daily grind of the workforce. This podcast wouldn’t still be going if you weren’t listening.  The listenership actually has been pretty stable for the past several years, and I’m humbled and honored that so many continue to listen and provide feedback.  Thanks to you and your support, what do you say let’s keep this thing going till you and I both are tired of it?! 🙂 Okay, now onto details about this particular episode.  I’ve been very focused recently on producing interviews with some amazing guests.  Frankly, this will always remain an important part of this podcast, as the individuals who were the main drivers in microcomputers will unfortunately only be around for an increasingly shorter period of time.  However, the main focus is, and always will be, covering the vast array of unique machines that existed in the late 70’s through the 80’s.  I will admit that the amount of research and work to publish the microcomputer-specific shows is a lot; considerably more than the interview episodes.  However, as I said, covering vintage computers and programmable calculators is the main impetus for this podcast.  It has been a full year since we covered a vintage machine, so it’s time to remedy that. To that end, in this episode we will be covering a vintage machine: the HP-97 and 67 programmable calculator.  I speak of them as one, because, as we will cover in great detail, they are internally the same machine, with the main difference being the built-in printer for the HP-97. I was very fortunate to get a fantastic co-host for this episode: HP calculator historian Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz (“Vwahdek Meer-Yeng SHAY of itch”) .  Wlodek has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience with the HP calculators and I think you’ll find his stories and background extremely interesting and helpful as we go through the history of the HP-97/67. In this episode, we’ll be spending a few minutes to get to know Wlodek, then together we will cover the history of the 97/67. As another bonus, I also was able to catch up with another gentleman who has a lot of history with HP: Everett Kaser.  Long-time listeners will recall that Everett worked for HP for many years on several of their calculators and desktop computers and helped with co-hosting the Floppy Days series of episodes on the HP Series 80.  It turns out that Everett had spent some time at HP repairing the HP97 and he shares his memories of those times. Based on the amount of material that was generated about this calculator, it looks as though we’re going to have 3 episodes on the 97/67, with the first being this one on history and memories, the second covering tech specs and several other topics, and a third episode to finish off coverage. I should mention that the HP97 episodes do veer from the timeline a bit.  Whereas I’ve been covering the machines that were introduced in 1982 (with the last being the Grundy NewBrain), the HP-97/67 were introduced in 1976.  By rights, the HP97 should have been covered in a very early episode, just after the MITS Altair 8800 and in the same general time frame as the Apple I.  However, I felt it was important to go back and pick up this machine, so I hope you will forgive me for departing from the timeline order for this. Intro Retro MacCast  Floppy Days Episode on the HP Series 80 with Everett Kaser - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-62-the-hp85b-computer-with-everett-kaser-and-vassilis-prevelakis  New Acquisitions ABBUC - Atari Bit Byters User Club  Atari ST SidecarTridge - https://store.sidecartridge.com/products/sidecartridge-multi-device  Upcoming Shows Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/  VCF East - April 4-6, 2025 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  The Commodore Los Angeles Super Show - April 26-27 - Burbank VFW Hall, Burbank, CA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=class:start  The 32nd Annual “Last” Chicago CoCoFEST! - May 2-3, 2025 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/  VCF Europe - May 3-4 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 21-22 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 31-Aug. 3 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2025-se   Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Interview with Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz  Wlodek’s book - A Guide to HP Handheld Calculators and Computers - https://amzn.to/4hl1Yq1 (affiliate link) References Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-67/97#67  Museum of HP Calculators (David Hicks) - https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp6797.htm   

Interview with Lorenzo Hagerty, Dynasty Computers Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   New Acquisitions Juiced.GS - https://juiced.gs/  Call-A.P.P.L.E. - https://www.callapple.org/  TRS-80 M1 keyboard remake - http://shop.retrostack.org/  NEC PC-8201A Dial-A-ROM - https://www.soigeneris.com/dial-a-rom-for-vintage-computers  TI-74/95 RAM/Flash cart - https://www.soigeneris.com/ti-74-ti-95-mem-cart  TI CC-40 RAM/ROM module - https://www.soigeneris.com/ti-cc-40-ramrom-card  Upcoming Shows Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 15-17, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com  Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/  VCF East - April 4-6, 2025 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  The Commodore Los Angeles Super Show - April 26-27 - Burbank VFW Hall, Burbank, CA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=class:start  The 32nd Annual “Last” Chicago CoCoFEST! - May 2-3, 2025 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/  VCF Europe - May 3-4 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 14 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  VCF Southwest - June 20-22, 2025 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - June 20-22, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 21-22 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 31-Aug. 3 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2025-se   Fujiama - August 11-17 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2025/  VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Meet the Listeners - Carlos Byte High No Limit Podcast - https://sunspotstories.podbean.com/  Interview Volume 1 of Lorenzo’s chronicles. On page 121, it mentions Dynasty - https://ia601007.us.archive.org/12/items/chroniclesoflorenzovolume1a/ChroniclesOfLorenzoVolume1a.pdf Lorenzo’s Website - https://www.lorenzohagerty.com  Lorenzo’s Books - https://www.amazon.com/Books-Lorenzo-Hagerty/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ALorenzo+Hagerty  podcast - Psychedelic Salon (https://psychedelicsalon.com/ )   

Interview with Dan Bricklin, VisiCalc Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper  FutureVision Research   Hello, and welcome to episode 146 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for December, 2024.  I am Randy Kindig, your host for this podcast. This month I’m staying with the recent interview theme, as I continue to get the opportunity for interviews with some amazing icons from the early personal computer days. This month, that person is Dan Bricklin, co-developer of the iconic VisiCalc software that helped kickstart the sales of early personal computers like the Apple II and began the important spreadsheet software category that persists until today.  I published an interview with Dan’s partner in VisiCalc (and in Software Arts), Bob Frankston, back in 2023, and now Dan adds to the story in his own words. Please note that I do plan to get back into producing episodes covering specific vintage computers.  I’ve just had an amazing run of interview opportunities in recent months, which has reduced the time I had to do the research on computers for the podcast.  Coming up in 2025 will be coverage of machines like the HP97, the Lobo Max-80, the Dragon, and the C64. New Acquisitions Ian Mavric’s TRS-80 store on ebay - (https://www.ebay.com/str/trs80universe  Lee Felsenstein’s book “Me and My Big Ideas: Counterculture, Social Media, and the Future” at Amazon (sponsor link) - https://amzn.to/3Wh6o9h  Lee Felsenstein (Fel-zen-stine) interview on Floppy Days - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-90-lee-felsenstein-interview  Lee Felsenstein co-hosting episode on Osborne computer (history) on Floppy Days - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-91-the-osborne-1-with-lee-felsenstein  Forrest Mims’ book “Maverick Scientist: My Adventures as an Amateur Scientist” at Amazon (sponsor link) - https://amzn.to/3BxDuKT  Forrest Mims interview on Floppy Days - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-130-interview-with-forrest-mims-iii  News and Upcoming Computer Shows News The VintNerd (Steve Diedierch) and FutureVision Research (Brian Cox) FujiNet video - https://youtu.be/0XcsSznKbTs  “Priming the Pump” book by David and Theresa Welsh - Kindle version - https://amzn.to/41Nrlw0  Upcoming Shows Virtual Tandy Retro Show (online) - January 25 - https://tandyretroshow.com  Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 15-17, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com  Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/  VCF East - April 4-6, 2024 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Interview Bob Frankston interview on Floppy Days - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-126-bob-frankston-visicalc  Dan Bricklin’s Website - http://www.bricklin.com/default.htm  Dan Bricklin's book "Bricklin on Technology" (sponsor link) - https://amzn.to/49X8DUP    

Episode 145 - Interview with Paul Terrell, The Byte Shop - Part 4 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   FutureVision Research  Hello, and welcome to episode 145 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for November, 2024.  I am Randy Kindig, your host for this audio tribute to the amazing variety of home computers that existed in the late 70’s thru the 80’s, before the influence of Big Blue changed the landscape forever. This month I’m continuing the series of interviews I’ve been doing recently with Paul Terrell.  As we have discussed, Paul Terrell is a name well-known in the annals of computer history; probably most famously for his kickstart of Apple Computer through the purchase of one of Steve Jobs’ and Steve Wozniak’s first batches of Apple I computers for his Byte Shop.  The Byte Shop was a very early computer store that was one of the few that existed in the world, at the time. In this interview, we continue to focus primarily on The Byte Shop, how it got started, what it was like, and much more.  This is part 4 of a 4-part series on just that topic with Paul.  If you want to know what it was like to run a computer store in those early days, this is the interview for you!  Along the way, you’ll learn even more about just what the home and hobby computer scene was like in those days. In future episodes, Paul and I will discuss other topics around his long and distinguished career, such as the aforementioned dealings with the fledgling Apple Computer, and other ventures in which Paul was involved after the Byte Shop, including a business that rented software. New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To Episodes 8 (https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-episode-8-the-trs-80-model-i-part-i) and 9 (https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-episode-9-the-trs-80-model-i-part-2), containing interviews with David and Theresa Welsh, authors of the book “Priming the Pump: How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution”. Lobo MAX-80 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max-80  HP-97 Calculator and repair: https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp6797.htm  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-67/97  https://www.ebay.com/usr/waterhosko  Upcoming Shows Show list I maintain for the remainder of the current year - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule)  Silly Venture WE (Winter Edition) - Dec. 5-8 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-we  Atari Party 2024 - Dec. 7 (noon - 4p.m.) - Quakertown Train Station, Quakertown, PA - http://atariparty.org/  Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 15-17, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com  Midwest Gaming Classic - April 4-6 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/  VCF East - April 4-6, 2024 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 12-13 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  Interview with Paul Terrell (3) Apple-1 Prototype Polaroid Photographs Given to Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop in 1976 - https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/348985606984001-steve-jobs-3-apple-1-prototype-polaroid-photographs-given-to-paul-terrell-of-the-byte-shop-in-1976/?cat=3  Ray Borrill’s Data Domain blog - https://www.landsnail.com/thedatadomain/remember.htm 

Episode 144 - Interview with Don French and Steve Leininger, Co-Designers of the TRS-80 Model I Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   FutureVision Research  Hello, and welcome to episode 144 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for October, 2024.  I am Randy Kindig, your host for this audio ode to the home computers of the past. This month I have a special treat for you.  At the recent Tandy Assembly, which I will talk about in more detail later in the podcast, not only were there a lot of great people, exhibits, vendors, and camaraderie, but we were also blessed with having Steve Leininger as one of the guest speakers along with his partner in the development of the TRS-80 Model I, Don French! I recently had an interview with Steve Leininger (episode 142: https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-142-interview-with-steve-leininger-designer-of-the-trs-80-model-i ), thanks to his willingness to be interviewed at the recent VCF Southeast in Atlanta.  That was a milestone for my podcast, as I had always wanted to talk with Steve.  I also had interviewed Don French several years ago, prior to his attending Tandy Assembly in 2017, in episode 53 (https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-53-interview-with-don-french-co-designer-of-the-trs-80-model-i ).  This time, however, I was able to get an interview with Don and Steve together in the same interview!  That in itself was amazing and I think you’ll really enjoy the back-and-forth between the two gentlemen who are obviously and correctly proud of the work they did to bring the TRS-80 to the world and Tandy into the computer business. Next month, I will talk about another computer rescue that came my way recently, and which is also tied into Tandy Assembly and Radio Shack computers.  I’ll not go into any further detail here as I don’t want to spoil the story for you next month.  But believe me, it will be fun both to tell and to listen to. New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To Soldering kits from FutureVision Research The Soldering Basics Kit  The BEAM Bot Soldering Kit  The Demonstrator Soldering Kit  Tandy Assembly 2024 - https://www.tandyassembly.com/  Drive cable for the TRS-80 Model I from Ian Mavric - https://www.ebay.com/str/trs80universe  RAM card for Tandy PC2/Sharp PC1500 from Jeff Birt - https://www.soigeneris.com/sharp-pc-1500-memory-modules  Upcoming Shows Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Silly Venture WE (Winter Edition) - Dec. 5-8 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-we  Show list I maintain for the remainder of the current year - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule)   

Episode 143 - Interview with Paul Terrell, The Byte Shop - Part 3 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   FutureVision Research  Hello, and welcome to episode 143 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for September, 2024.  I am Randy Kindig, your host for this retro ride to the past of home computing. This month I’m continuing the series of interviews I’ve been doing recently with Paul Terrell.  As we have discussed, Paul Terrell is a name well-known in the annals of computer history; probably most famously for his kickstart of Apple Computer through the purchase of one of Steve Jobs’ and Steve Wozniak’s first batches of Apple I computers for his Byte Shop.  The Byte Shop was a very early computer store that was one of the few that existed in the world, at the time.  In this interview, we continue to focus primarily on The Byte Shop, how it got started, what it was like, and much more.  This is part 3 of a 4-part series on just that topic with Paul.  If you want to know what it was like to run a computer store in those early days, this is the interview for you!  Along the way, you’ll learn even more about just what the home and hobby computer scene was like in those days. In future episodes, Paul and I will discuss other topics around his long and distinguished career, such as the aforementioned dealings with the fledgling Apple Computer, and other ventures in which Paul was involved after the Byte Shop, including a business that rented software. New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To VCF Midwest - https://vcfmw.org/  Indus GT disk drive - https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Indus%20GT  Coco FujiNet - https://fujinet.online/  10502PC - https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=398  VTech PreComputer 2000 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VTech_PreComputer_2000  Upcoming Shows Show list I maintain for the remainder of the current year - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule)  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  AmiWest - October 25-27 - Sacramento, CA - https://amiwest.net/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/  Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Silly Venture WE (Winter Edition) - Dec. 5-8 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-we  Interview with Paul Terrell (3) Apple-1 Prototype Polaroid Photographs Given to Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop in 1976 - https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/348985606984001-steve-jobs-3-apple-1-prototype-polaroid-photographs-given-to-paul-terrell-of-the-byte-shop-in-1976/?cat=3  Ray Borrill’s Data Domain blog - https://www.landsnail.com/thedatadomain/remember.htm   

Interview with Steve Leininger, Designer of the TRS-80- Model I Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   0                                 Floppy Days Tune 1 min 13 sec              Vintage Computer Ads 1 min 42 sec              Intro 9 min 03 sec             bumper - Peter Bartlett  9 min 11 sec              New Acquisitions 17 min 11 sec             bumper - Ian Mavric  17 min 19 sec            Upcoming Computer Shows 21 min 53 sec            bumper - Myles Wakeham 21 min 58 sec            Meet the Listeners 28 min 37 sec            Interview with Steve Leininger 1 hr 20 min 29 sec    Closing This particular episode has a special meaning for me, personally.  You see, as I’ve mentioned on earlier episodes, the TRS-80 Model I from Tandy/Radio Shack was my first home computer (even though my first programmable device was a TI58C calculator).  I recall the joy and wonder of playing with the machine (it wasn’t called the Model I at that time; just the TRS-80; as it was the first of the line) in the local Radio Shack store in 1977 and 1978 and the incredible rush of owning one in 1979; after my wife purchased a Level I BASIC machine for me as a gift for college graduation.  That machine only had 4K of RAM and 4K of ROM (Tiny BASIC), as it was the entry-level machine, but it was a thing of beauty.  I felt like I could do anything with that machine, even though my justification to the wife was that we could track our checkbook and recipes on it.  I think she knew better, but went along with it anyway.  The computer came with everything you needed, including a tape drive and black-and-white monitor, which was good for a poor recent college graduate.  I quickly, as finances allowed with my new engineering job, upgraded the computer to 16K of RAM and Level II BASIC (a powerful Microsoft 12K ROM BASIC) and enjoyed the machine immensely, even using it in my job supporting the build-out of a new nuclear power plant back in those days. I eventually sold off the Model I, in favor of a computer that had color graphics and sound (the Atari 800), but have always continued to have a huge soft spot for that first computer. When I started the Floppy Days Podcast, one of the people that has always been on my bucket list to interview has been Steve Leininger, who, along with Don French while at Radio Shack designed the TRS-80 Model I, among other things.  A few years back, I had the opportunity to participate in an interview with Steve for the Trash Talk Podcast, when I was co-hosting that show, but an ill-timed trip to the hospital for my son meant that I was not able to participate.  While my son’s health is of paramount importance, of course, I always wanted to get another chance to talk with Steve.  Not only was Steve the designer of one of my favorite home computers of all time, but he also was a fellow Purdue University Boilermaker, who graduated just a year before I started there.  The thought that I could have met Steve on campus if I’d been there just a year earlier was very intriguing to me, and fueled my desire to talk with Steve even more. In the last episode (#141 with Paul Terrell) I talked about VCF Southeast in Atlanta in July of 2024.  After I had made plans to attend that show, I was flabbergasted to find out that Earl Baugh, one of the show organizers, had somehow managed to contact Steve and get him to come to the show!  I have to thank Earl for the work he did to make that happen.  Here was my opportunity to certainly meet Steve, and perhaps even talk with him!  I prepped some questions, just in case I was able to get an interview. While at the show, I met Steve and asked him if he would be willing to do a short interview for Floppy Days while at the show.  Amazingly, he was very kind and agreed to do that.  We found a quiet room and I was able to talk with Steve for almost an hour.  This show contains that interview. Another note on this: as you’ll hear in the interview, the connection to Steve is even stronger than I realized!  He not only went to my alma mater, but also grew up in some of the same towns that myself and my wife did.  We personally peripherally know some of his relatives.  Things like this really do make you think the world is small! One other, final, note: This interview even ties into the recent and continuing interviews I’ve been publishing with Paul Terrell.  As you’ll hear in upcoming episodes with Paul, and in this interview with Steve, Steve actually worked at the Byte Shop before getting the first job with Tandy, and in fact his work at the Byte Shop directly led to him getting hired by Tandy to design the Model I. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I enjoyed getting it.  I am overjoyed I finally got the chance to talk to one of my vintage computer heroes, Steve Leininger! New Acquisitions C64 Sketch and Design by Tony Lavioe - sponsored link https://amzn.to/4dZGtt2  Compute’s Mapping the IBM PC and PC Junior by Russ Davies - sponsored link https://amzn.to/3yQmrlP  The Best of SoftSide - Atari Edition - https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-best-of-softside-atari-edition  ZX81+38 - https://github.com/mahjongg2/ZX81plus38  magnifying glasses - sponsored link https://amzn.to/4cBQYla  Japanese power adapter - sponsored link https://amzn.to/3XjeUW5  Upcoming Shows VCF Midwest - September 7-8 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  VCF Europe - September 7-8 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  World of Retrocomputing 2024 Expo - September 14-15 - Kitchener, ON, Canada - https://www.facebook.com/events/s/world-of-retro-computing-2024-/1493036588265072/  Teletext 50 - Sep 21-22 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, UK - https://www.teletext50.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  AmiWest - October 25-27 - Sacramento, CA - https://amiwest.net/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/   Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Silly Venture WE (Winter Edition) - Dec. 5-8 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-we   Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub  Interview Steve’s Workbench at radioshack.com (archived) - https://web.archive.org/web/19980528232503/http://www.radioshack.com/sw/swb/   Transcript of Interview-Only Randy Kindig: All right. I really appreciate your time today, Steve.  Steve Leininger: Thank you for having me, Randy.  Randy Kindig: So let's start out maybe just by talking about where You live today, and what you do? Steve Leininger: I live in Woodland Park, Colorado, which is 8, 500 feet, right out in front of we got Pike's Peak out our front window. Randy Kindig: Oh. Oh, that's nice.  Steve Leininger: Yeah we get snow up through about June, and then it starts again about September. But it's not as much snow as you would imagine.  Randy Kindig: I've got property in Montana, and I lived out there for a couple of years,  Steve Leininger: so there you go.  Randy Kindig: We probably got more snow up there.  Steve Leininger: Hey, you asked what I did.  I'm involved with Boy Scouts, a maker space with a church based ministry firewood ministry, actually. Some people call it a fire bank. So we provide firewood to people who can't afford that.  Randy Kindig: Oh.  Steve Leininger: So it's like a food bank, but with fire, firewood.  Randy Kindig: I've never heard of that. Steve Leininger: We source the firewood. We cut it down and we split it. Lots of volunteers involved; pretty big project.  Randy Kindig: Yeah. Okay, cool. I also wanted to mention, I'm a fellow Boilermaker.  Steve Leininger: There you go.  Randy Kindig: I know you went to Purdue, right?  Steve Leininger: I did go to Purdue.  Randy Kindig: Did you ever get back there?  Steve Leininger: Yeah, and in fact they've got a couple learning spaces named after us. Randy Kindig: Oh, okay.  Steve Leininger: We've been donating to our respective alma maters. My wife went to IU.  Randy Kindig: Oh, is that right? Oh my.  Steve Leininger: Yeah, oh my and me. Yeah, the fact that the family who's all IU, their family tolerated me was, quite a remarkable thing.  Randy Kindig: Okay.  I find it interesting because I think you graduated in 76, is that right? Steve Leininger: 74.  Randy Kindig: Oh, 74.  Steve Leininger: Yeah. Yeah. I was there from … Randy Kindig: Oh yeah, you actually were gone before I started.  Steve Leininger: Yeah. So I was there from 70 to 73. 70 to 70 four. When I graduated in four years, I got both my bachelor's and master's degree by going through the summer. I managed to pass out of the first year classes because of some of the high school stuff yeah.  Randy Kindig: Okay. I started in 75, so I guess we just missed each other.  Steve Leininger: Yeah. Yeah. You're the new kids coming in.  Randy Kindig: Yeah. . So I, I found that interesting and I wanted to say that. Do you keep up with their sports program or anything like that? Steve Leininger: Yeah, they play a pretty good game of basketball in fact, I ribbed my wife about it because she was from the earlier days, the Bobby Knight days at IU that were phenomenal.  Randy Kindig: Yeah, exactly. For those of you listening, I'm talking with Steve Leininger, who was the primary developer, if not the developer, of the TRS 80 Model I.. Steve Leininger: I did all the hardware and softw

Episode 141 - Interview with Paul Terrell, The Byte Shop - Part 2 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   Hello, and welcome to episode 141 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for July, 2024.  I am Randy Kindig, your host, as always, for this historical perspective on obsolete-but-still fun technology. This month I’m bringing you a follow-on interview episode from last month.  As we discussed then, Paul Terrell is a name well-known in the annals of computer history; probably most famously for his kickstart of Apple Computer through the purchase of one of Steve Jobs’ and Steve Wozniak’s first batches of Apple I computers for his Byte Shop.  The Byte Shop was a very early computer store that was one of the few that existed in the world, at the time. In this interview, we continue to focus primarily on The Byte Shop, how it got started, what it was like, and much more.  There will be even more content in future episodes, as Paul and I had a pretty lengthy discussion on just this topic.  If you want to know what it was like to run a computer store in those early days, this is the interview for you!  Along the way, you’ll learn even more about just what the home and hobby computer scene was like in those days. New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To VCF Southeast - https://gameatl.com/vintage-computing-festival-southeast/  Upcoming Shows Show list I maintain for the remainder of the current year - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule)  Vintage Computer Festival West - August 2-3 - Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/   Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - Aug. 15-18 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-se   VCF Midwest - September 7-8 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  VCF Europe - September 7-8 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  World of Retrocomputing 2024 Expo - September 14-15 - Kitchener, ON, Canada - https://www.facebook.com/events/s/world-of-retro-computing-2024-/1493036588265072/  Teletext 50 - Sep 21-22 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, UK - https://www.teletext50.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  AmiWest - October 25-27 - Sacramento, CA - https://amiwest.net/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/   Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Silly Venture WE (Winter Edition) - Dec. 5-8 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-we   Interview with Paul Terrell (3) Apple-1 Prototype Polaroid Photographs Given to Paul Terrell of the Byte Shop in 1976 - https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/348985606984001-steve-jobs-3-apple-1-prototype-polaroid-photographs-given-to-paul-terrell-of-the-byte-shop-in-1976/?cat=3  Ray Borrill’s Data Domain blog - https://www.landsnail.com/thedatadomain/remember.htm  Transcription of Audio-only Paul Terrell: Now eventually we did get to the point where we needed some legal assistance and we were once again, being in the heart of Silicon Valley, you would network with people.  My salespeople knew a guy by the name of Larry Sonsini, who was a a lawyer in Palo Alto, and he happened to be the lawyer that had taken Intel public and Larry was very interested in what Byte Shop was doing because he was representing legally a lot of the electronics companies that were getting into personal computing. So Larry and I developed a friendship where we got together and I was able to convince him, since we were just a startup to be a little bit lenient with his legal fees and provide us with some legal assistance. And of course, Larry expanded his business right along with us. And he's actually the dominant legal firm in Silicon Valley. He's taken most of the companies public out there. He very much focused in the area of public markets and finance and that kind of thing.  He grew his company and now he has a huge complex of buildings, a campus and in Palo Alto, which in the old days, it used to be called Wilson, Mosier and Sonsini and I think Mosier dropped out of the program, Rosati came in and so forth, but those were good, contacts to have you know in the marketplace because once again relationships. I met Bob Noyce from Intel who was the founder, one of the founders, of Intel and through Larry's relationship and friendship. Another person that was really dominant in the success that we had at Byte Shop was Regis McKenna. And Regis was one of the people that had come out of the semiconductor business. Paul Terrell: He was over at National. Had watched their success and as those semiconductor companies were going public and Larry was taking them public they were they were also a source for a lot of technical people, good management, technical people being able to cash out of the success that they had with the startup company they were involved with to where they created a venture capital market in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Paul Terrell: And prior to that happening, there was very little funding available and actually the initial seed capital that came in for Apple was from Art Rock and Art Rock was a venture capitalist from New York City. So a lot of early startup money that was available to any kind of business was really New York is the center of finance; nobody's bigger than New York and Chicago does well in the mercantile business, but you know in commodities and so forth, but New York is where the big money was and there was really nothing in San Francisco other than some federal entities that the federal reserve was there and so forth, but and there was standard banking, going on. Paul Terrell: Wells Fargo was headquartered there and so forth, but these people weren’t seed capital people these people weren't providing funding for new business and of course there was a ton of new business going on. As a result of all of these semiconductor outfits and so forth. Paul Terrell: So we were seeing a lot of new growth and one of the one good example of a venture capital startup was Don Valentine. And he was the first seed money into Apple along with Art Rock because Art's problem was he was located in in San in New York but he needed to have somebody out here that was looking after his money. Paul Terrell: So a lot of these venture capital people, and actually the big financial institutes from New York would team up with these new technical venture capital people. Coming out of the semiconductor companies and Tom Perkins is a good example. Perkins Kleiner. These were semiconductor guys that got involved with venture capital and Tom was one of the guys that I talked to about when Byte Shop got to the point where we needed additional capital to grow.  When I ended up selling the Byte operation I was opening eight stores a month and spending a lot of time on airplanes and our growth factor was just limited by how much time I had available to get out there and get contracts signed and so forth. Paul Terrell: Then, as I pointed out earlier there were new industries that were being created as a result of the personal computer and and venture capital was one of them that really flourished to the point today where, when you hear about these company startups like Facebook and Google and all of the internet companies that have come out of it. Paul Terrell: A lot of those people were initially funded by all of the people that made their money in personal computing and before we got into Internet and what that was all about. That, and as you pointed out, there’s all these other computer stores across the country were coming into existence. Paul Terrell: The consumer was becoming very aware of computer products. Video games was the big application that really kicked everything off because the electronic companies could make video game machines, which the kids loved. And they can make them very inexpensive versus the cost of putting a computer into a home or an office environment. Paul Terrell: We started to see the marketplace expand with the advent of the. video games and of course that was coming from the coin operated video games and arcades that were out there accessible to the public and so forth. So there were more opportunities to to be 1-on-1 with technology. Paul Terrell: Other than going to Paul Terrell's Byte Shops and and participating in the greatest show on earth. Randy Kindig: A couple questions for you. Did you actually end up with dealerships in other countries besides the U. S. as well? Paul Terrell: Yeah, the first country that we did business with and was Japan, and I actually opened up the Byte Shop SoGo in Japan what, once again, what would happen is people that were traveling to the San Francisco area maybe to a convention or business got exposed to the computer stores and they didn't have them in their countries. Paul Terrell: They would take the time to to look around and see what was going on there. And I had a a gentleman from Japan who would come in, and of course our computers weren't very attractive as products for him to sell other than to people that understood English when he went back to his country, but of course, there were a lot of people in Japan professionals that were multilingual and, once again, we were very fortunate in the computer industry that almost the leaders in the business, IBM and the such they were English speaking and so the languages and all of the materi

Episode 140 - Interview with Paul Terrell, The Byte Shop - Part 1 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   Hello, and welcome to episode 140 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for June, 2024.  I am Randy Kindig, your guide to this journey through vintage computer goodness. This month I’m bringing you another interview episode.  Paul Terrell is a name well-known in the annals of computer history; probably most famously for his kickstart of Apple Computer through the purchase of one of Steve Jobs’ and Steve Wozniak’s first batches of Apple I computers for his Byte Shop.  The Byte Shop was a very early computer store that was one of the few that existed in the world, at the time.  I’ve had an earlier introductory interview with Paul where numerous topics were covered in a more general manner.  I also talked with Paul about his time at Exidy working on the sorcerer computer.  In this interview, we focus primarily on The Byte Shop, how it got started, what it was like, and much more.  Through several conversations with Paul, the interview ran quite long, so this is part I of The Byte Shop discussion.  If you want to know what it was like to run a computer store in those early days, this is the interview for you!  Along the way, you’ll learn even more about just what the home and hobby computer scene was like in those days. New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been Up To American Computer and Robotics Museum - https://acrmuseum.org/  Vtech Pre-Computer Unlimited - https://vtech.fandom.com/wiki/PreComputer_Unlimited  USB-C Power Adapter for Atari 8-bit - https://mozzwald.com/product/atari-8-bit-usb-c-power-adapter/  USB-C Power Adapter for Apple IIc - https://mozzwald.com/product/apple-iic-usb-c-power-delivery-adapter/  Upcoming Shows Show list I maintain for the remainder of the current year - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule)  KansasFest, the largest and longest running annual Apple II conference - July 16-21 (in-person), July 27-28 (virtual) - University of Illinois in Springfield, IL - https://www.kansasfest.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 19-21,  2024 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Nottingham Video Game Expo - July 20-21 - The Belgrave Rooms, Nottingham, U.K. - https://www.nottsvge.com/  Fujiama - July 23-28 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2024/   Vintage Computer Festival West - August 2-3 - Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/   Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - Aug. 15-18 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-se   VCF Midwest - September 7-8 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  VCF Europe - September 7-8 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Teletext 50 - Sep 21-22 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, UK - https://www.teletext50.com/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  AmiWest - October 25-27 - Sacramento, CA - https://amiwest.net/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/   Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Silly Venture WE (Winter Edition) - Dec. 5-8 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2024-we   Meet The Listeners Brian Cox's site FVResearch.com - https://www.fvresearch.com/  Transcription of Interview-only Randy Kindig: All right. Today I'm with Paul Terrell. Paul, today we wanted to talk about the Byte Shop and, exactly what happened with that, how it got started, a lot of things about it. So maybe we could just kick it off by how did the idea of the Byte Shop come about and, how did that kind of get started? Paul Terrell: Okay, yeah basically I had a rep company called Repco in Mountain View, California. I started Repco in 1975, the beginning of the year and January sort of frame. Uh, with Repco it's a manufacturer's rep representative sales representative in a geographic territory. And Boyd and I had our partnership company for Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Paul Terrell: And then there was also another territory, the electronic rep association divides the country up into about 26 different geographical areas and then people, can join the ERA and become members of the ERA. Reps in those territories and with the association they have contractual information and they provide contact information with different manufacturers and such. Paul Terrell: With Repco we're selling electronic products, but mainly, different kind of instruments, multimeters from companies that manufactured that, and companies would use reps when they were just getting started out and they couldn't afford to have direct sales people and offices all over the country. Paul Terrell: So they would hire a rep and typically pay about, oh, anywhere from 5 to 10 percent commission on sales that happened in that territory. And Boyd and I we're carrying power supply companies and instrument companies. One day I got a phone call from one of my customers at Stanford research facility in Palo Alto, California, and he was saying that he had just read about an Altair computer that used a 8080 Intel processor chip, and he was wondering why the products he was buying from me were costing so much. Paul Terrell: And basically the Altair computer was on the cover of Popular Electronics, and so he went ahead and ordered one of these.  They were for sale, mail order, and so I told him that I personally didn't believe that it could be sold for $439, I believe was the mail order price for this and it was in kit form rather than an assembled and tested computer. Paul Terrell: I told him that I thought that, basically that product was a paper tiger, and it would never really show up and that he should continue to buy the Intel processor cards from the company that we were representing, which was Prolog down in Monterey, California. And about a month later I got another phone call from this guy and he said “Hey, Paul”, he said, “if you're free for lunch, come on over because the paper tiger has arrived at Stanford Research and we're taking a look at it.” Paul Terrell: I went over there and sure enough, there was a computer and it did have a true Intel 8080 microprocessor chip included in there. And quite honestly it had a very professional Optima rack mounted case up that was part of the kit product.And so they were going to have to assemble the unit themselves, but to the computer, it it looked very much like a Data General with panel controls and lights and things and once again, rack mountable. And I got the information out of the documentation that they had received there with the product. And as soon as I got back to the office, I called MITS down in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And talked to Ed Roberts, who was the founder and the CEO of the company. Paul Terrell: And told Ed about my company Repco. He was changing his company from mail order four function calculators to these what he was calling a microcomputer and a personal computer. And I told them that, something as complicated as a computer, he’s going to have feet on the street for people to explain how this computer works and support the the product because it was a lot more sophisticated and capable than the four function calculator kits he was using, presently selling, and he agreed with me and invited me to come down to Albuquerque and talk to him about how he might be able to set up a sales rep organization nationwide because that was his intention. Paul Terrell: And he was getting all kinds of checks in the mail from people all over the country that had read this article and. And literally we're just sending off checks and ordering these kits. And he had a pretty tremendous back order at the time. Boyd and I contacted some of the reps that sold products like the Prologue and Control Instruments that we were representing.  And we were attempting to get other territories lined up for MITS so that he would have the kind of support that he wanted in the sales organization. Paul Terrell: And that's basically how we got introduced to personal computing and The Altair computer, and of course when we went down to Albuquerque to meet with Ed, Bill Gates and Paul Allen were at the premises. They had a little office on Route 40 going through the center of Albuquerque, and it was just one of those little strip centers that you see with retail stores and offices and we sat down with Ed, signed the contracts, signed up our territory for ourselves. And then, gave contact information that we had to bring more reps across the country on board and gave them some, information that made feel that these people could do a good job for him and he saw the products we were carrying and how they fit with the personal computer and Altair. Paul Terrell: We got the contract signed. We started to represent MITS and the Altair and what we did in the initial stages of it there was a group in Palo Alto that was meeting at Stanford's linear accelerator called Homebrew Computer Club. And this was a group of guys that, worked in the industry and that we were selling to. We were interested in joining the Homebrew Club and going to the meetings, and once again, basically representing MITS to the audience there and answering questions. Randy Kindig: Paul, did the Byte Shop actually exist yet? Was that an entity yet? Paul Terrell: No, no. The Byte Shop didn't exis

Episode 139 - Interview with Vic Tolomei, VP Software Development, Exidy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   Hello, and welcome to episode 139 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for May, 2024. This month I’m bringing you another interview episode; in the ongoing effort to document the story of Exidy and its Sorcerer computer.  I’ve already talked, in previous episodes, with Howell Ivy and Paul Terrell, both principals at Exidy and in the creation of the Sorcerer computer.  Those were quite popular episodes!  In this episode, I also tracked down Vic Tolomei, VP of Software Development at Exidy during that same time, and got his story.  If you want to know what it was like to lead a software development effort at that time, this is the interview for you! Upcoming on the podcast, I have more interviews to share, as well as more hardware to cover.  I’m actually a few months ahead with developing content, which I guess is an advantage of being retired! I've created some tiers for paid members and have come up with some ways to reward those who are generous enough to monetarily support the Floppy Days Podcast on Patreon. First of all, all tiers ($2/month and up) will receive early access to companion videos for any interviews that are published. The audio will be published to Floppy Days immediately, as usual, while any video will be made available exclusively to all paid members for a period of time (at least 30 days) before the general public. The videos will be published for you on Patreon.com, and then moved to the Floppy Days YouTube channel after the exclusivity period is over. Other benefits have been added for the tiers above the minimum $2 tiers, such as Floppy Days merchandise, an audio introduction for supporters, and even the option to co-host an episode! It is my intention to always make all content available to everyone at no cost, while at the same time providing some benefits for those generous enough to support the podcast. I hope this is a good compromise. Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!! New Acquisitions VTech Advantech IQ Unlimited - https://vtech.fandom.com/wiki/I.Q._Unlimited_Computerv  A8PicoCart - https://github.com/robinhedwards/A8PicoCart  M100/T102/T200 Dial-A-ROM - https://www.soigeneris.com/dial-a-rom-for-vintage-computers  Upcoming Shows Show list I maintain for the remainder of the current year - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule)  CorgsCon (Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society) - June 1 - Kasich Hall – Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/  Game Not Over 2024 - June 8-9 - Dunstall Park Racecourse in Wolverhampton, U.K. - https://retro.directory/browse/events/326-game-not-over-2024  VCF Southwest - June 14-16, 2024 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Boatfest Retro Computer Expo - June 14-16 - Hurricane, WV - http://boatfest.info  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 22 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 22-23 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  Kickstart Amiga UK Expo - June 29-30 - Nottingham, UK - https://www.amigashow.com/  KansasFest, the largest and longest running annual Apple II conference - July 16-21 (in-person), July 27-28 (virtual) - University of Illinois in Springfield, IL - https://www.kansasfest.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 19-21,  2024 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Nottingham Video Game Expo - July 20-21 - The Belgrave Rooms, Nottingham, U.K. - https://www.nottsvge.com/  Fujiama - July 23-28 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2024/   Vintage Computer Festival West - August 2-3 - Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/   VCF Midwest - September 7-8 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  VCF Europe - September 7-8 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  AmiWest - October 25-27 - Sacramento, CA - https://amiwest.net/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/   Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Interview Links Interview with Vic - https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/10/the-story-of-chiller-one-very-messed-up-video-game/  Vic has several software credits at Moby Games, including Arrows and Alley, and Magic Maze for the Sorcerer - https://www.mobygames.com/person/636004/vic-tolomei/  Exidy Sorcerer Book: Software Internal Manual for the Sorcerer (1979)(Quality Software) by Vic Tolomei - https://archive.org/details/Software_Internal_Manual_for_the_Sorcerer_1979_Quality_Software  VP of Software, Vic Tolomei at The Ultimate (So Far) History of Exidy blog - https://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-ultimate-so-far-history-of-exidy_21.html 

Episode 138 - Interview with Hans Franke, VCF Europe and Computeum Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   Hello, and welcome to Episode 138 of the Floppy Days Podcast for April, 2024!  My name is Randy Kindig and I host this podcast about beautiful, obsolete, extremely interesting computers of 35 to 45 years ago, when computer diversity was abundant. This episode is an interview show, where we talk with Hans Franke. Hans is very active in the classic computer community, being an organizer of the European Vintage Computer show AND curator of a computer museum!  We discuss both of these things with Hans and learn more about the vintage computer scene in Europe. I actually have several interviews completed and queued up to publish.  So, while I continue to work on covering the next computer in the timeline, expect several interviews in the near term.  I won’t go into details, but these are great interviews that I think you will enjoy. I also wanted to mention those listeners who appreciate the show enough to donate through patreon.com.   I really appreciate you guys and it helps offset the cost of running the podcast. What I’ve Been Up To Indy Classic Expo - http://www.indyclassic.org  8-Bit Classics - http://www.8bitclassics.com  80 column card for Atari 1090XL at Tindie from Brian Reifsnyder  New Acquisitions Coco MPI mention on an earlier episode (Episode 131)  Cloud-9 - http://www.cloud9tech.com/  Texas Instruments TI58 & TI59 calculators coverage on an earlier episode (Episode 3)  TI58/59 battery pack mod from Bob Wolfson  2.4A power adapter for Atari XL/XE - https://www.8bitclassics.com/product/atari-xl-xe-2-4a-amp-power-adapter/  Upcoming Shows The 32nd Annual “Last” Chicago CoCoFEST! - May 4-5, 2024 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/  The Festival of Portable Computing - May 18-19 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72231/The-Festival-of-Portable-Computing-18th-19th-May-2024/  CorgsCon (Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society) - June 1 - Kasich Hall – Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/  Game Not Over 2024 - June 8-9 - Dunstall Park Racecourse in Wolverhampton, U.K. - https://retro.directory/browse/events/326-game-not-over-2024  VCF Southwest - June 14-16, 2024 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Boatfest Retro Computer Expo - June 14-16 - Hurricane, WV - http://boatfest.info  Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 22 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 22-23 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  Kickstart Amiga UK Expo - June 29-30 - Nottingham, UK - https://www.amigashow.com/  KansasFest, the largest and longest running annual Apple II conference - July 16-21 (in-person), July 27-28 (virtual) - University of Illinois in Springfield, IL - https://www.kansasfest.org/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 19-21,  2024 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  Nottingham Video Game Expo - July 20-21 - The Belgrave Rooms, Nottingham, U.K. - https://www.nottsvge.com/  Fujiama - July 23-28 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2024/   Vintage Computer Festival West - August 2-3 - Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/   VCF Midwest - September 7-8 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/  VCF Europe - September 7-8 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  AmiWest - October 25-27 - Sacramento, CA - https://amiwest.net/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/   Retro Computer Festival 2024 - November 9-10 - Centre for Computing History, Cambridge, England - https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/72253/Retro-Computer-Festival-2024-Saturday-9th-November/  Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/current-year-vintage-computer-show-schedule  Interview with Hans Franke  VCF Europe (VCFe.org) Computeum (Computeum )   

Post-VCF SoCal 2024 with Paul Nurminen Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   0 Floppy Days Tune 1 min 13 sec Vintage Computer Ads 1 min 43 sec Intro 2 min 53 sec bumper - Paul Nurminen 3 min 00 sec Discussion with Paul Nurminen 1 hr 20 min 00 sec Closing Hello, and welcome to episode 137 of the Floppy Days Podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig, the host of this show.  This episode is an adjunct to and follow up to the last episode (#136) of Floppy Days.  In that episode, which covered the Grundy New Brain, I alluded to the fact that in the “What I’ve Been Up To” section of the podcast, I was going to publish a separate episode just for that.  I did that because I don’t like to have episodes over about 90 minutes, and having this segment in that show would have pushed it well beyond that. So, for this episode I enlisted the aid of Paul Nurminen (aka Nurmix), who was also an attendee and exhibitor/vendor at the recent Vintage Computer Festival Southern California, to help me do a follow up discussion of that show.  We discuss our exhibits, other exhibits of note, our general thoughts about the show, and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy this. Links VCF SoCal - https://www.vcfsocal.com/   Intellivisionaries Podcast - http://intellivisionaries.com/  White Flag Computing - https://www.whiteflagcomputing.com  Episode 83 of Floppy Days about the Intellivision Keyboard Component with Paul Nurminen - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-83-the-intellivision-keyboard-component  1090XL expansion unit and 320K RAM board - reifsnyderb  Discussion - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/333084-swutils-simcheck-simtest-osdump/  Purchase - https://www.tindie.com/products/5cfab/1090xl-modernized-reproduction-main-board/  The VintNerd - https://thevintnerd.com/index.html  Mega65 - https://mega65.org/  10-Minute Amiga Retro Cast - https://www.youtube.com/c/10MinuteAmigaRetroCast  Aquarius+ computer - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/352635-introducing-the-aquarius/ 

Grundy NewBrain Peripherals thru Web Sites with Chris Despoinidis Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays Sponsors: 8-Bit Classics  Arcade Shopper   0 Floppy Days Tune 1 min 13 sec Vintage Computer Ads 1 min 42 sec Intro 5 min 17 sec bumper - Chris Espoinidis 5 min 28 sec New Acquisitions 6 min 33 sec bumper - Gerald McMullon 7 min 16 sec Upcoming Computer Shows 12 min 01 sec bumper - Steve O’Hara-Smith 12 min 27 sec Peripherals 22 min 37 sec Using the Machine 33 min 14 sec User Groups/Newsletters 38 min 36 sec Books & Manuals 41 min 47 sec Software 44 min 11 sec Ads 46 min 45 sec Modern Upgrades 51 min 43 sec Emulation 59 min 07 sec Buying One Today 1 hr 02 min 52 sec Community 1 hr 04 min 50 sec Current Web Sites and Videos 1 hr 12 min 45 sec Closing Hello, and welcome to episode 136 of the Floppy Days Podcast.  I’m Randy Kindig, the host of this show, and I’ll be your guide to a journey back to the year 1982, when a very interesting, low-cost machine entered the market in Great Britain.  This is the final episode on the Grundy New Brain, not a well-known machine, most particularly here in the United States where very few have even heard of it; let alone ever owned one. If you want to know more, I’ve recently published interviews with John Grant, Steve O’Hara-Smith, and Gerald McMullon concerning their involvement with the New Brain back in the day.  I also, in the most recent episode, discussed tech specs around the machine with my co-host. Regarding that, in that last episode, to help me talk about the machine, I enlisted Chris Espoinidis to co-host this episode.  Chris manages the New Brain Emulator site from his home in Greece.  Even though Chris created one of the premier New Brain emulators in existence, and that was the primary focus of his Web site initially, his site has become one of the best places (along with Gerald McMullon’s Website) to get any and all New Brain information (which quite honestly is quite sparse). The focus of this last episode detailing the machine, Chris and I will cover things like peripherals, Web sites, books & magazines, software, using the machine, emulators and all of the topics that have become the standard for machine coverage on Floppy Days.  This episode will complete all the details we know on the New Brain, with the intent to impart every bit of information to you that I could find about this little-known machine. Before we do that, I will talk about upcoming shows. Upcoming Shows Interim Computer Festival SPRING - March 23rd and 24th, 2024 - Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://sdf.org/icf/  Midwest Gaming Classic - April 5-7 - Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/  VCF East - April 12-14, 2024 - Wall, NJ - http://www.vcfed.org  Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - April 13-14 - Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/  The Commodore Los Angeles Super Show - April 13-14 - Burbank VFW Hall, Burbank, CA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=class:start   VCF Europa - April 27-28, 2024 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/  The 32nd Annual “Last” Chicago CoCoFEST! - May 4-5, 2024 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/  VCF Southwest - June 14-16, 2024 - Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas - https://www.vcfsw.org/  Boatfest Retro Computer Expo - June 14-16 - Hurricane, WV - http://boatfest.info  Pacific Commodore Expo NW v4 - June 22-23 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - https://www.portcommodore.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=pacommex:start  Kickstart Amiga UK Expo - June 29-30 - Nottingham, UK - https://www.amigashow.com/  Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 19-21,  2024 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/  VCF Midwest - September 7-8 - NEW VENUE TBD - http://vcfmw.org/  Portland Retro Gaming Expo - September 27-29, 2024 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/  Tandy Assembly - September 27-29, 2024 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/  Chicago TI International World Faire - October 26, 2024 - Evanston Public Library (Falcon Room, 303), Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/faire/   http://chiclassiccomp.org/events.html  Facebook show schedule - https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows/  Newsletters NewBrain Online (Dutch/Netherlands) - https://retro.hcc.nl/newbrain/newbrain-online.html  Books and Manuals books/manuals at archive.org - https://archive.org/search?query=grundy+newbrain  Modern Upgrades NewBrain SD-Box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G5fARz7HnM  https://newbrainemu.eu/new/download/nb-sd-card-box-v-2-circuit-diagram/  Emulation NewBrain Emulator by Chris https://newbrainemu.eu/new/download/newbrain-emulator-beta-4/  https://github.com/cdesp/NB-Emulator-V.3  Buying One Today https://www.ebay.com/itm/325473049117 - $999 BIN (from Greece) Grundy NewBrain Model AD.Complete with PSU, Manual, AZERTY !! Tested & Working!! - https://www.ebay.com/itm/334406491114 - 995 euro (from Netherlands) untested, no power supply - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256162599251 - 449 pounds BIN (from UK) Community Forums AtariAge - https://forums.atariage.com/search/?q=grundy&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=116  Stardot - https://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/search.php?keywords=grundy&fid%5B0%5D=45  Current Web Sites/Videos https://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Grundy/  https://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Grundy/gerald.php  https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192051/http://newbrain.hcc.nl/  https://www.newbrainemu.eu/  Article on NewBrain in Popular Computing Weekly (PCW) - https://newbrainemu.eu/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,99/Itemid,52/  Grundy NewBrain Model A repair http://www.8bit-homecomputermuseum.at/repair/newbrain/newbrain.html  http://www.8bit-homecomputermuseum.at/repair/newbrain/newbrain_ad_repair.html  Series of videos on fixing the NewBrain from the Clueless Engineer - https://www.youtube.com/@Brfff/search?query=grundy  Several videos by Chris on using the emulator and many other videos - https://www.youtube.com/@CDESP072  NewBrain Robot Car - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T6mNi2ula4  References history article by Gerald McMullen - https://newbrainemu.eu/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,96/Itemid,52/  https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/5291/Grundy-NewBrain-AD/  https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/8265/Grundy-Business-Systems/  https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=176  https://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Grundy/index.php https://www.theregister.com/2012/07/02/newbury_labs_grundy_business_systems_newbrain_is_30_years_old/