The Retrobits Podcast

In Show 148, I talk about my continuing adventure with a generous donation I received of MITS Altair equipment. It's been quite a ride!

See http://www.vintage.org/2015/east/ for more information!  

See http://www.retrobits.com/2014/10/show-147-jeff-ledger-and-micromite.html for show notes!

See http://www.retrobits.com for show notes!

This feed is NOT 404. Welcome to Show #145!  This episode's topic: The Vintage Computer Festival East 9.1! The Vintage Computer Festival (VCF) East 9.1 information page! Tune in to the sometimes rowdy Retro Computing Roundtable Podcast, Next Without For or Chicken Lips Radio for more retro goodness! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retro Podcast section at the Vintage Computer Forums. Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Old Computers. Me Likey. Welcome to Show #144!  This episode's topic: Raiders of the Lost Shrinkwrap! Tune in to the sometimes rowdy Retro Computing Roundtable Podcast - http://rcrpodcast.com/ Next Without For and Chicken Lips Radio coming soon! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retro Podcast section at the Vintage Computer Forums. Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Show 143 Give us a listen. We don't byte. Welcome to Show #143!  This episode's topic: An Interview with Bob Armstrong of Spare Time Gizmos! Links for Spare Time Gizmos and the SBC6120: Yahoo! Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sparetimegizmos/ SBC6120 on the Spare Time Gizmos page: http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/SBC6120-2.htm ELF2K on the Spare Time Gizmos page: http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/Hardware/Elf2K.htm Spare Time Gizmos Wiki documentation for recent things: http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/wdoc/index.php?title=Main_Page New podcasts coming: Chicken Lips Radio (not a poultry show) for Commodore topics... Next Without For - a podcast about programming retro computers! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retro Podcast section at the Vintage Computer Forums. Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

And, We're Back.  Again!  Yoi otoshi o! Welcome to Show #142!  This episode's topic: An Interview with Kevin Savetz! Here's the site for Kevin Savetz' new book, Terrible Nerd!Tune in to the sometimes rowdy Retro Computing Roundtable Podcast - http://rcrpodcast.com/Want to know more about Reversi?  Check out the Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReversiBe sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retro Podcast section at the Vintage Computer Forums. Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

And, We're Back. Welcome to Show #141!  This episode's topic: My Reversi Game Adventure, Part I! Tune in to the sometimes rowdy Retro Computing Roundtable Podcast - http://rcrpodcast.com/Hang with us at the Vintage Computer Forums - http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/forum.phpSpecifically, you can find us in the Retro Podcast section on that forum - http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?83-Retro-Podcasts-DiscussionApple2Online – the online resource for Apple II documentation, software, and more – celebrating their 2 year anniversary - http://apple2online.com/ This year’s Vintage Computer Festival East 8.0 looks to be the biggest and best ever - http://www.vintage.org/2012/east/ - May 5th and 6th, 2012If you’re a Color Computer Fan, check out the 21st annual “Last” Chicago CoCofest 2012 - http://www.glensideccc.com/ - May 19th and 20th, 2012The RCR is in the house at this year’s KansasFest 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri, July 17th through the 22nd, 2012 - http://www.kansasfest.org/Learn more about the Commodore Flyer Internet modem and disk drive emulator - http://www.retroswitch.com/products/flyer/Want to know more about Reversi?  Check out the Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReversiBe sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retro Podcast section at the Vintage Computer Forums. Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Hooray, it's Tax Day... (for U.S. listeners...) Welcome to Show #140!  This episode's topic: The Vintage Computer Festival (VCF) East 7.0! In this episode, I'm joined by Evan Koblentz of the Mid Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists, who talks about the upcoming VCF East 7.0.You can find information about the VCF East 7.0 here, and also on Facebook!  Also, you can contact Evan Koblentz at evan@snarc.net.MARCH has recently acquired an IBM 1130 mainframe - check out more info on the IBM 1130 at ibm1130.org...Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Happy New Year! Welcome to Show #139!  This episode's topic: My SFD-1001 drive adventure! In this episode, I discuss the Commodore SFD-1001 disk drive, IEEE-488 interface technology, and my related Retrochallenge 2011 Winter Warmup entry!Find information on the rebuilding of EDSAC (CNET link) at the U.K. National Museum of Computing site...See a video tour from Robert Scoble of the new Revolution exhibit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California!Visual 6502 - a transistor level simulator (and a LOT of info) for the 6502 microprocessor!Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Happy Holidays! Welcome to Show #138!  This episode's topic: The PDP-8 Minicomputer! In this episode, I provide an introduction to the PDP-8 Minicomputer, released by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1965.  The PDP-8 was the first commercially-produced and widely available minicomputer, and launched a new era in computing.The new generation of Commodore?  Check out the new Commodore 64 - a modern PC in a C64 replica case...The Diamond operating system - the Atari 8-bit GUI OS!The Retro Computing Roundtable (RCR) is a new podcast hosted by David Greelish, now on episode #4!  Find out more at the Classic Computing blog...It's time for this year's Retrochallenge Winter Warmup!  Get your retro game face on!The Cult Of Mac website covers the Vintage Apple news for 2010...The IEEE Computer Society launches a new feature - Computing Then!Keynote speaker announced for this year's KansasFest...more info at their site...Check out the PDP-8 FAQs at faqs.org, and also the Doug Jones PDP-8 resource site!Cool PDP-8 video on YouTube (video will begin playing immediately) from TNMOC, and also the PDP-8 playing music!Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

A personal computer with 64K of RAM for only $595???? Welcome to Show #137!  This episode's topic: The Commodore 64, Part III! In this episode, I conclude our examination of the Commodore 64, covering the variants of the C64, some popular hardware and software add-ons, and of course, modern day fun."The Woz" recently gave a preview tour of the Computer History Museum's upcoming permanent exhibit - "Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing".Check out the Retro Computing Roundtable podcast on iTunes or at the Classic Computing blog site!Hear real SID tunes at the SOASC (Stone Oakvalley's Authentic SID Collection) web page.Want to know more about the GEOS operating system for the C64?  Check out the awesome GEOS FAQ!  You can download GEOS for the C64 at the CBM Files site.Check out Jeremy Reimer's blog entry on Personal Computer Market Share, 1975-2009.  It is VERY informative.Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Bits are bits. Welcome to Show #136!  This episode's topic: KansasFest 2010 with Ivan Drucker! Ivan Drucker, attendee at this year's KansasFest 2010 event, gives us the scoop on sessions, activities, and related fun! (Part III of the Commodore 64 series coming soon!) For info on this and next year's KansasFest, visit www.kansasfest.org! Also, check out KansasFest videos (search for "KansasFest") on vimeo.com. Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

3.2 GHz hexacore, and my GIGO goes faster! Welcome to Show #135!  This episode's topic: The Commodore 64, Part II! In Part II of this series on the Commodore 64, I talk about two of the chips in the Commodore 64 that really set it apart from the competition - the VIC-II graphics chip, and the SID sound/synthesizer. 300 Baud Magazine - what a great title!  Check it out at their website... Linus Åkesson does some great stuff with chiptunes and demos! Results are in for Retrochallenge 2010!  See them here... Happy 25th birthday Amiga!  Want to read a cool retrospective at the Technologizer website? Dates are set for KansasFest 2011!  Time to start counting the days... At Bletchley Park, they're teaching computing old skool.  See this article on BBC News! Wow, the 2600 game doesn't look like the game art!  Really?  Rundlc.com has a great post on this... Lots of info on the C64 "SID" chip at sid.kubarth.com... Wikipedia to the rescue for the VIC-II!  Make sure to check out the links at the bottom of the page. Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Five Year Anniversary coming up! Welcome to Show #134!  This episode's topic: An Interview with Stewart Cheifet, Part II! In part II of this interview, Stewart Cheifet and I discuss more about the Net Café television program, the effort to bring Computer Chronicles to the Internet Archive, more about the Internet Archive including its work with NASA, and some parting shots on the computing industry in general.(Note: The Commodore 64 series will resume after this two-parter with Stewart Cheifet.  Stay tuned...)The Internet Archive site for NASA, as mentioned by Stewart Cheifet on the podcast!Check out Stewart Cheifet’s website at www.cheifet.com.Two new retrocomputing users groups in my area - Commodore Computer Club - Vancouver, WA – USA:, and the Portland Commodore Users Group!Retrochallenge 2010 starts in just one week!  Sign up at retrochallenge.org! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to earl@retrobits.com. The Retrobits Podcast blog can be found at www.retrobits.com.  You can follow the podcast on Twitter @RetroEarl. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Run.  Stop.  Restore. Welcome to Show #133!  This episode's topic: An Interview with Stewart Cheifet, Part I! In part I of this interview, Stewart Cheifet discusses the genesis and some favorite moments from the Computer Chronicles program, which he anchored for two decades.(Note: The Commodore 64 series will resume after this two-parter with Stewart Cheifet.  Stay tuned...)Want a full-featured command-line based mail agent?  Check out Heirloom Mailx!Talk Geek to Me, an Internet Radio program by Deepgeek.A Tandy CoCo, connected to the Internet as a client and server?  You bet...Some very nice retro computing photos on Time magazine's site!15 enjoyable vintage tech ads on IT World... Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Computers for the masses, not the classes... Welcome to Show #132!  This episode's topic: The Commodore 64, Part I! In part I of this series on the Commodore 64, I cover my initial experiences with the machine (back in "the day"), and also provide an overview of the C64 hardware specifications. Have an old 680x0 based Mac?  Interested in them?  If so, be sure to visit the 68K Macintosh Liberation Army site!Commodore reborn, again?  Have a look at the article on The Register, and the website itself at Commodore USA, LLC, and you be the judge...Read "The Bob Chronicles", and remember one of the most famous software failures of all time!KansasFest 2010 is open for registration!Join in on PET Alive!, a 10-day event to celebrate the Commodore PET! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

Yay!  We're BACK! Welcome to Show #131!  This episode's topic: Ten Years Of Retrocomputing! In this episode, I discuss some observations on the time that I've spent in the retrocomputing hobby, which coincidentally turns out to be 10 years.  It's been a fun ride, and more fun to come! The SIDStick is a portable SID chiptunes player.  More information at the Gadget Gangster website...Old retro plastics yellowed with age?  Take a look at Retr0bright to see if it might be a solution! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.  

I found the Enter key.  Where's the Exit key?Welcome to Show #130!  This episode's topic: Enhancing the TRS-80 Model 100! In this episode, I cover two add-on products for the Tandy Model 100/102/200 computers - the REX flash module, and the NADSBox SD-card storage system. Both of the products discussed in this episode can be found at the Club100 site! Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License.