ANTIC Episode 124 In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We have lots of game news and emulator updates, Brad imitates a pirate, and Kay tells us that the Atari 8-bit is the "Computer of Love"! READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next W...
Jan 12, 2026•1 hr 46 min
ANTIC Episode 123 - Steampunk Atari In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Lots of Holiday Buyer's Guide action, news of recovered software, FujiNet news galore, and Brad does steampunk Atari… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next Wi...
Dec 11, 2025•1 hr 32 min
ANTIC Episode 122 - Atypical Kay In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we introduce a new format for the news, there's lots of archiving going on, new software and hardware for our favorite 8-bits, and we find out Kay is atypical… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Fac...
Oct 28, 2025•1 hr 25 min
ANTIC Episode 121 - Dongle Disaster In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Special guest Brent Carroll joins as we bring you the Atari news and narrowly avoid disaster with our dongle talk … READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next With...
Sep 24, 2025•1 hr 23 min
ANTIC Episode 120 - AI Non Grata In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Kay discusses a big Atari haul, we get an Atari report from VCF West, we discuss a new Atari 8-bit emulator, and Kay bans AI-generated content from the podcast … READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC F...
Aug 28, 2025•1 hr 26 min
ANTIC Episode 119 - Special Guest Joe Decuir In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… Joe Decuir, one of the fathers of the Atari 400/800, joins us for a super-interesting discussion of what he's working on and the current Atari news… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Fa...
Jul 30, 2025•1 hr 39 min
ANTIC Episode 118 - Trigger Warning In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast…we have lots of user feedback and user projects to report on, we talk about a postage stamp-sized Atari computer, and (trigger warning!) there are a couple of Commodore references… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Intervie...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 28 min
ANTIC Episode 117 In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… lots of scanning talk, more new games for the Atari than you can shake a stick at, and how to win a kiss on the forehead… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next Without For What...
Jun 07, 2025•1 hr 2 min
ANTIC Episode 116 In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we talk about all the Atari things we did this month and discuss all the "AI-generated nonsense" going on in the Atari world…READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Next Without For L...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 41 min
Stanley Trost, Electronic Arts Financial Cookbook Stanley R. Trost wrote several books about early microcomputers, including Atari BASIC Programs in Minutes, Doing Business with VisiCalc, Multiplan on the Commodore 64, Useful Basic Programs the for IBM PC, VisiCalc for Science and Engineering, and others. He was also the creator of Financial Cookbook, which was published by Electronic Arts in 1984 (and one of only two "home management" titles released by EA, the other being Cut and Paste, "the R...
Mar 26, 2025•29 min
Bill and David Lappen, Buy-Phone It's a dangerous game in the computer history field to call anything the "first." But Buy-Phone is a very strong contender call itself the first online yellow pages. Years before before Yahoo!, before Craigslist, Buy-Phone was a text-based dial-up service — available at 300 and 1200 bits per second — that provided business listings, movie times, and personal ads, all for free to callers. The service launched in late 1982 and was limited to the West Los Angeles ar...
Mar 15, 2025•48 min
ANTIC Episode 115 In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we talk lots of contest news, Mr. Paint, a DIY Atari-themed monitor, and lots of other Atari 8-bit news. Plus, we find a book on "exhausting" Atari games! READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eate...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 28 min
Steve Kranish, Parker Brothers Frogger Steve Kranish is the creator of the Atari 8-bit and Atari 5200 versions of Frogger, the versions published by Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers had the rights to publish cartridge versions of Frogger. Sierra On-Line had already published versions of Frogger on floppy disk and cassette, so Parker Brothers bought the rights to use that version as the basis for its cartridge version. But there were a few problems: for one, the 13K cassette game would need to be...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 27 min
ANTIC Interview 453 - Giann Velasquez, Atariteca Hello, and welcome to this interview-only episode of ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit computer podcast. I'm Randy Kindig, your host for this episode. Giann Velasquez is the owner and curator of the popular, Spanish-language, Atari 8-bit news site, Atariteca. Giann is a consummate Atari 8-bit fan and lives in Lima, Peru. This interview took place on June 30, 2024. Links Atariteca - https://www.atariteca.net.pe/ Blog about Atari 8-bit computers. News, guides ...
Feb 18, 2025•31 min
ANTIC Episode 114 - Andy Diller Returns! In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we have special guest Andy Diller for a FujiNet update and to let us know about all the great things he's working on… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interview index: here ANTIC Facebook Page AHCS Eaten By a Grue Ne...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 37 min
ANTIC Interview 452 - Dean Garraghty Hello, and welcome to this interview-only episode of ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit computer podcast. I'm Randy Kindig, your host for this episode. Dean Garraghty is the proprietor of DGS Software, which sold, and continues to sell, software for the Atari 8-bit computers since the 80's. This is a very low cost, 191-disk set that includes an entire utility pack, games, issues of a disk-based newsletter, a sound and music package, an interesting programming language ca...
Jan 23, 2025•32 min
ANTIC Episode 113 - Feeling Fancy! In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… The clear case Kickstarter doesn't make it, lots of FujiNet news, and we end the year 2024 with a bang by bringing you all the rest of the Atari news; all while Kay is feeling fancy… READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discussion thread on AtariAge Interv...
Jan 04, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Daniel Serpell (dmsc), Creator of FastBasic Daniel Serpell (dmsc) is the creator of FastBasic, a modern implementation of the BASIC programming language for the Atari 8-bit computers. He released the first version to the public in 2017. Today, the GPL-licensed language is up to version 4.6, and is a favorite of 10-line BASIC game contest entrants and anyone who wants a speedy, modern take on Atari programming. I'm going to crib from AtariWiki's description of FastBasic: "It is a complete re-impl...
Dec 30, 2024•39 min
Robert Leyland: AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, MicroIllustrator Robert Leyland programmed AtariArtist, KoalaPainter, and MicroIllustrator (along with Steve Dompier) - the graphics applications that worked with KoalaPad, Atari Touch Tablet, and Chalk Board PowerPad drawing tablets. Prior to that, he programmed The Dragon's Eye (published by Automated Simulations/EPYX), Murder on the Zinderneuf (published by Electronic Arts) and, with Jaron Lanier, the Atari version of Alien Garden for Automated Simul...
Dec 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Tim Boehlert, Atari's WCI Labs Division Tim Boehlert began at Atari in 1982. He worked at WCI Labs, the New York Atari subsidiary, where he worked on the broadboard of the 600XL, robotics projects, and mass storage devices. This interview took place on June 4, 2022. Video version of this interview ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer ANTIC Interview 332 - Mike Matthews, Alien Group Voice Box ANTIC Interview 383 - Gregg Squires, Atari Manager of Hardware Engineering Strong Museum of...
Dec 20, 2024•55 min
Frank Foster, Hybrid Arts Frank Foster was one of the founders of Hybrid Arts, the company that made MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) hardware and software for Atari 8-bit and Atari ST computers. Frank was in charge of marketing for the company. After Hybrid Arts, Frank headed the music division at Atari, where he build marketing partnerships with Tangerine Dream, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, and other musicians. I talked with two of the other Hybrid Arts founders, Robert Moore and P...
Dec 13, 2024•58 min
Robert Moore and Paul Rother, Hybrid Arts MIDIMate Robert Moore and Paul Rother were two of the founders of Hybrid Arts, along with Frank Foster and Alan Hart. Hybrid Arts created the MIDIMate, hardware that added Musical Instrument Digital Interface capability to the the Atari 8-bit computers; and various software for it including MIDITrack. Hybrid Arts continued on to make a wide variety of MIDI and music software for the Atari ST (which has built-in MIDI) including EZ-Track. Paul was the prog...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Mary Eisenhart, MicroTimes magazine Mary Eisenhart was editor of MicroTimes magazine, a free, advertising-supported magazine that was distributed in California. The first issue was May 1984, and Mary remained at the magazine until 1998, producing more than 180 issues. MicroTimes provided interviews, computer industry news, rumors, and columns, and - of course - advertising. For most of its run, there were two editions of each issue: Northern California and Southern California. When she left Micr...
Nov 30, 2024•1 hr 20 min
ANTIC Episode 112 In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… we have several Christmas ideas for you, we tell you about projects that would allow creating a new reproduction Atari 800XL, and we wet our appetites for the current Atari's hot sauce while wearing their ugly Christmas sweater … READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC feedback at AtariAge Atari interview discus...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Vince Cate, The Critical Connection In my last interview , I talked with the creator of SIO2PC, which let Atari users use a DOS computer as its disk drive and printer. This interview is with the creator a product which - six years earlier - let Atari users use a CP/M computer as its disk drive and printer (and keyboard.) Vince Cate owned a company called USS Enterprises, with just one product: The Critical Connection. Critical Connection was a combination of a specialized cable and software for ...
Nov 22, 2024•31 min
Nick Kennedy, SIO2PC and the ATR File Format Nick Kennedy is the creator of SIO2PC, the hardware and software combination that allowed Atari 8-bit computer users to use a PC as a peripheral. In 1989, this was unprecedented, a new way to connect the little Atari to the bigger world, to the (relatively) massive storage and speed of a computer running PC-DOS. For the first time, Ataris could use a PC as storage, RAM disk, and printer. Nick also created the .ATR file format, which quickly became the...
Nov 15, 2024•54 min
Rick Reaser, Current Notes Magazine's 8-bit Editor Rick Reaser was the 8-bit Editor of Current Notes Magazine, a popular magazine dedicated to the Atari computers. He began in 1992, and wrote a column called 8-Bit Tidbits. Rick used his Atari 8-bit computer exclusively through his college years and for programming for grad school. He was also president of P3ACE - Pikes Peak Poke Atari Computer Enthusiasts - a user group serving the Colorado Springs area. This interview took place on February 11,...
Nov 08, 2024•51 min
Bob Stein, Atari's Encyclopedia Project Bob Stein worked at Atari Research for 18 months beginning in 1981. He was hired by Alan Kay. He worked almost exclusively on an encyclopedia project, a potential collaboration between Atari and Encyclopaedia Britannica that never went anywhere. I learned about Bob after he uploaded an item called The Atari Drawings to Internet Archive. It's a collection of nine colorful pencil drawings, drawn in 1982 by Disney animator Glen Keane. The drawings depict futu...
Nov 01, 2024•57 min
ANTIC Episode 111 - "Is Kay Really Funny, or is it Just a Courtesy Snicker?" In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We go over the ABBUC Software Contest winners, we cover PRGE, Kay accelerates his interview publishing schedule, and we ask the question: Is Kay really funny, or are Randy's snickers simply courtesy? You decide … READY! Recurring Links Floppy Days Podcast AtariArchives.org AtariMagazines.com Kay's Book "Terrible Nerd" New Atari books scans at archive.org ANTIC f...
Oct 27, 2024•57 min
Nick Kennedy, Atari Morse Code Keyer I was adding a batch of ham radio newsletters to the Internet Archive's Digital Library of Amateur Radio And Communications, and I noticed the word "Atari" on one of the pages. In the September 2019 issue of Solid Copy, the newsletter of The CW Operators Club, Nick Kennedy had written: "Few hams who are both CW [morse code] enthusiasts and programmers of microcontrollers have been able to resist trying their hand at a keyer or two. I've done several in the pa...
Oct 26, 2024•36 min
