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  • ANTIC Interview 466 - John Victor, Program Design Inc.

    ANTIC Interview 466 - John Victor, Program Design Inc.
    2026/10/10
    John Victor, Program Design Inc. John Victor was founder and president of Program Design Inc., one of the earliest publishers of educational software. Based in Greenwich CT, PDI created dozens of educational software titles and a few not-so-educational games for Atari 8-bit, Commodore PET and 64, TRS-80, Apple II, and Texas Instruments computers. Software marketed by PDI included Moonbase IO, Sammy the Sea Serpent, and Preparing for the SAT (which was probably the first SAT prep software for any home computer). PDI also created "An Invitation to Programming", the casette-based BASIC programming primer sold by Atari. That may have been the first "how to program" tutorial for a home computer. Here's what ANALOG Computing's September 1981 issue had to say — Program Design, Inc., better known as PDI, has been involved in supporting the Atari computers since even before its release. Most Atari computer owners know of this company through the Invitation to Programming series, which was conceived and executed entirely by PDI. Located in southern Connecticut, PDI has been actively producing educational software for several small computer systems, concentrating on the Atari in particular. The majority of PDI's offerings are oriented towards children, with the age bracket ranging from 3 years old to high school level. All of the programs are on cassette format only, frequently taking advantage of the voice track capability. One of the newer programs, "Sammy the Sea Serpent", is an interactive storybook type game where the child participates in the story. While graphics are displayed on the screen, a voice (a female actress' voice was used in this case) narrates the story calling upon the child to use a joystick from time to time to move 'Sammy' about the screen. ... Other tapes drill students on vocabulary and number problems, with some aimed at preparing high school students for the SAT tests. For adults, Astro-Quotes and Mini-Crossword Puzzle can be an interesting challenge (Astro-Quotes, our particular favorite)... Other titles published by PDI included Bowling, Captivity, various word search programs, Code Breaker, Let's Spell, Cash Register, Preschool IQ Builder, Reading Comprehension — the list goes on. This interview took place on October 4, 2026.

    Video version of this interview

    1984 Antic magazine profile of John Victor

    ANALOG Computing "In the Spotlight"

    PDI programs at AtariMania

    Programs co-credited to John

    An Invitation to Programming

    Moonbase IO game audio
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    41 分
  • ANTIC Interview 465 - Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal)

    ANTIC Interview 465 - Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal)
    2026/09/30
    Vince Wu, The Learning Phone (Atari PLATO Terminal) Vince Wu worked at Atari for about two and a half years. He was the programmer of The Learning Phone, the PLATO terminal for Atari 8-bit computers. Before that, he worked with PLATO at the University of Illinois, then in California for Control Data Corporation. PLATO was the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system, a groundbreaking graphical client-server computer system aimed at education. To assist in this interview, I was joined by Thomas Cherryhomes and Michael Sternberg, who were on a road trip to a Vintage Computer Festival conference. In 2018, Tom Cherryhomes created IRATA.ONLINE, a modern working version of the PLATO server and terminals. Michael Sternberg helped reverse engineer the Atari PLATO cartridge for that project. This interview took place on September 10, 2026.

    Video version of this interview

    1984 "PLATO Rising" article in Antic magazine

    The Learning Phone review in ANALOG Computing magazine

    The Friendly Orange Glow: The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture

    Computer History Museum PLATO@50: PLATO Computer Learning System 50th Anniversary

    IRATA.ONLINE, a modern PLATO server and terminals

    ATARI PLATO Users Guide version 3.1 (1983)

    ANTIC Episode 49 – Thomas Cherryhomes and PLATO

    ANTIC Interview 10 – Mark Rustad

    ANTIC Interview 117 – Landon Dyer

    ANTIC Interview 183 – Lane Winner

    Early versions of Atari PLATO released

    PLATO on Wikipedia

    Vince Wu – Follow the Arc of Justice

    Vincent Wu's birthday memories—jailed at Selma in 1965, worked security for MLK at the March finale
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    1 時間 20 分
  • ANTIC Interview 464 - Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group

    ANTIC Interview 464 - Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group
    2026/09/13
    Walt Klappert, Atari Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs

    Walt Klappert worked at Atari's Advanced Development Group/WCI Labs in New York, and later at Take One Enterprises in California. He worked with Nancy and Steve Mayer on a variety of projects with a concentration on creating software for girls. He is credited as Director of "Fisher Price Dance Fantasy", a dance choreography game for small children. He also worked on a system for authoring CD+G, an enhancement to the compact disc spec that allowed graphics and lyrics to be displayed synchronized with music.

    This interview took place on August 14, 2026.

    Video version of this interview

    Walt's YouTube page

    Dance Fantasy at AtariMania
    ANTIC Interview 65 - Steve Mayer, 400/800 Designer
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    1 時間 26 分
  • ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode

    ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode
    2026/09/10
    ANTIC Episode 130 - The Tongue-Twister Episode In this episode of ANTIC The Atari 8-Bit Computer Podcast… We trip all over our own tongues trying to bring you all the news fit to print in the Atari 8-bit computer 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 What we've been up to Diskmenu manual - archive.org/details/apx-diskmenu-manual 30th anniversary of Classic Computer Magazine Archive - AtariMagazines.com: Discussion - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391744-30th-anniversary-of-classic-computer-magazine-archive/ Atari Yahoo Groups archives: https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=atari+yahoo+group https://archive.org/details/@savetz?query=identifier%3Ayahoo-group*∧%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22texts%22 Atari Usenet group archive additions - https://archive.org/details/ANTIC_podcast_extras?tab=collection&query=usenet MPP MicroportXL board manual - https://archive.org/details/Supra_Microport-XL_for_Atari_manual New Atari Legacy magazine - ​​https://atarilegacy.com/ Recent Interview Shows Interview index: here https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-459-mike-lorenzen-atari-program-text-editor-pitfall-ii https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-460-tim-jenkins-cheating-at-roulette ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392145-bob-fraser-disk-trove/ New & Updated Games AstroSmasher!, Atari 8-bit computer game made with AI inspired by Intellivision's classic title Astrosmash! - by gimmee99 - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391594-saturday-fun-astrosmasher/ Texas Hold 'Em - MultiPlayer Game by MassiveRobot - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391615-texas-hold-em-multiplayer-game/ FujiRealm Playable Demo MORPG Released for FujiNet by mozzwald - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391580-fujirealm-playable-demo-morpg-released-for-fujinet/ New & Updated Software FujiLink — A FujiNet Driver for SpartaDOS X 4.50 by Piotr D. Kaczorowski - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391472-fujilink-%E2%80%94-a-fujinet-driver-for-spartados-x-450/ Kat5200 emulator - https://t.co/HH0p6DtNaO Mailbox protocol adapter with GMAIL and IMAPS support by Thom Cherryhomes - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391551-mailbox-protocol-adapter-with-gmail-and-imaps-support/ FujiGPT - an LLM client for Atari FujiNet by HanJammer: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391346-fujigpt-an-llm-client-for-atari-fujinet/ https://github.com/HanJammer/FujiGPT ATRaction – ATR/XFD image manager - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392013-atraction-%E2%80%93-atrxfd-image-manager/ d/BASIC for d/OS - Raj S Madugula - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/392300-intro-to-king-dos-atari-130xe-a8picocart-and-me-60fps/ Publications Atari Insights - https://www.ataribasics.com Compute's Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com End of the rainbow https://amzn.to/3RZSV6z Atari Projects: https://atariprojects.org/2026/06/28/benchmark-your-atari-8-bit-computers-using-basic-15-30-mins/ https://atariprojects.org/2026/07/04/learn-about-scanlines-using-peek-in-atari-basic-5-10-mins/ https://blog.archive.org/2026/08/27/a-computer-history-time-capsule/ New & Updated Hardware JUST_POKEY from Lotharek: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391270-just_pokey-from-lotharek/ https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=431 The Company That Calls Itself Atari https://kotaku.com/atari-and-universal-sign-movie-deal-for-10-video-game-adaptations-including-pong-asteroids-and-missile-command-2000719087 Other Jeffrey Stanton died https://smmirror.com/jeffrey-stanton-leading-venice-beach-historian-who-authored-coney-island-of-the-pacific-passes-away-at-79/ https://www.atariarchives.org/agagd/ Tom Hudson - https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/thomas-hudson-obituary?id=54708986 FujiNet NOS Introduction Video (YouTube) by Thom Cherryhomes: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391452-fujinet-nos-introduction-video-youtube/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-1PJEkK2ck FujiNet NOS Introduction PDF - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391386-fujinet-nos-introduction-pdf/ FujiNet Programmer's Guide PDF - https://forums.atariage.com/topic/391365-fujinet-programmers-guide-pdf/ If you would like to receive regular FujiNet updates, please consider subscribing to fujinews.substack.com All user manuals are available on this page: fujinet.online/getting-started. For your convenience, here are direct links to each manual here: FujiNet for Atari Owner's Guide FujiNet NOS (for Atari) ...
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    1 時間 37 分
  • ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer

    ANTIC Interview 463 - Steve Bryson, game programmer
    2026/08/30

    Steve Bryson, game programmer

    Steve Bryson was a programmer for EPYX and The Connelley Group, where he ported many games to various 8-bit systems. He ported Dragonriders of Pern, an action/strategy game based on the Anne McCaffrey novels, to Atari and Commodore 64. He ported Jumpman to the Apple II, and Lower Reaches of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Temple of Ra to the C64.

    This interview took place on August 5, 2026.

    Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/SdK56W9bd6Y

    Steve's personal web site: https://www.stevepur.com

    Randy Glover, Jumpman interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i171/i171-transcript.html

    Tom Zimmerman, AMY chip interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i431/i431-transcript.html

    Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i070/i070-transcript.html

    Dragonriders of Pern at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/a8b_Dragonriders_of_Pern_The_1983_Epyx_US

    Dragonriders of Pern at AtariMania: https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-dragonriders-of-pern_1723.html
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    50 分
  • ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari

    ANTIC Interview 462 - Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari
    2026/08/15
    Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari Bob Fraser worked at Atari for four years: he worked on the early CX70 light pen, helped write the specs for an unreleased database manager for the Atari 8-bits. and later moved into Atari's Games Design Research Group under Alan Kay, where he experimented with 3-D graphics. He wrote a chapter of De Re Atari — chapter 7, all about sound — and two applications that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Supersort, a data sorting routine; and Insomnia, a sound editor.

    Supersort was APX catalog number 20030, and was for sale starting with the first APX catalog, summer 1981. Insomnia was catalog number 20073 and was available about six months later in the winter 1981 catalog.

    The CX70 light pen: it's rare — according to AtariWiki, it was only offered by Atari for a few months in 1981. After our interview, Bob sent me his: prototype #2. He also sent me a lot of floppy disks (around 70) which I was able to get the data off of. They include many of his 3-D rendering demonstrations, source code for an early version of the Ballsong demo, several early versions of Mike Lorenzen's MEDIT text editor, light pen software, internal development tools, and more. I've put them all online, have fun digging through them.

    This interview took place on June 10, 2026.

    Video version of this interview

    Download Bob's disks, and conversation about them

    Supersort in the summer 1981 APX catalog

    Supersort at Atarimania

    Insomnia in the winter 1981 APX catalog

    Insomnia at Atarimania
    De Re Atari

    CX70 Light Pen at AtariWiki

    CX70 discussion at AtariAge

    Invest like a Billionaire by Bob Fraser

    Dale Yocum interview

    Chris Crawford interview

    Douglas Crockford interview
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    25 分
  • ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System

    ANTIC Interview 461 - James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System
    2026/08/02

    James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System

    James W. Burley is the programmer of Data Base/Report System, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange beginning with the Summer 1982 APX catalog. It was catalog number 20134 with a price of $22.95. APX sold it for about a year, through the Summer 1983 catalog.

    APX awarded Data Base/Report System first prize for new software in the "Business & Professional Applications/Personal Finance & Record Keeping" category: for that, James was awarded an Atari Star plaque and $2000 prize. (He received the plaque, but says he never received the money.) The software may have also been sold by Main Street Publishing.

    Here's what the APX catalog had to say:

    Data Base/Report System by James W. Burley
    Recommended for experienced data base users/Written in BASIC and machine language

    If you've ever used a data base manager on a large computer system, you'll appreciate the many features of DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM. This general-purpose system for ATARI 800 Home Computers creates and maintains records having up to ten units of information ("fields"), with a maximum field length of 100 characters and a maximum record length of 255 characters. The total number of records you can store varies with record key size, a key being the unique identifier for each record) and available computer memory. Generally, you can store about 1300 records having a five-character key on a system with 40K of memory.

    You use the main program to create a new file; add, update, and remove records; sort the file; and print reports. Auxiliary programs reorganize the data files to free unused diskette space; redefine the file by adding fields, modifying field sizes, or changing field headings; delete old files; and print special reports.

    ... These and other features make DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM a really versatile data base management system for your ATARI 800 Home Computer.

    REVIEW COMMENTS: You need some data base knowledge to use the program; it's a bit complex, but all the features are worthwhile. The print formatting and file reorganization features are very useful. The sort and search routines, written in assembly language, work quickly.

    In 1983, Antic magazine featured the program as one of the "Ten Best from APX". In 2024, Wade at the Inverse ATASCII podcast did a deep dive into Data Base/Report System: check the show notes for the link to that review, which includes dozens of screenshots, sample print output, and information about the database's file format. Wade gave the software a rating of 5 out of 8.

    As of this recording, the Atari community doesn't yet have a scan of the APX manual for Data Base/Report System: if you have a copy, let me know, or scan it and upload it to Internet Archive. The Main Street Publishing version — both disk and manual — are also not preserved.

    This interview took place on May 22, 2026.

    Data Base/Report System at AtariMania

    Data Base/Report System in the APX Summer 1982 APX catalog

    Antic Magazine - February 1983 - Ten Best from APX

    Inverse ATASCII reviews Data Base/Report System
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    25 分
  • ANTIC Interview 460 - Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette

    ANTIC Interview 460 - Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette
    2026/07/19

    Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette with an Atari Computer

    Tim Jenkins is the author of several humorous memoirs: "Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way", "More Missions Accomplished: And a lot more funny business", and "Business Missions Accomplished: Silly travel tales on the corporate dime".

    I wanted to talk to Tim about one chapter in his 2018 book More Missions Accomplished: the chapter is titled "Gaming the System" and it tells the tale of him trying to cheat a roulette using his Atari 800 computer.

    A brief excerpt from that chapter:

    "Las Vegas — 1989. Shortly after the dawn of the personal computer revolution, opportunity beckoned. Some people wrote software and sold it over retail counters. Others launched services that harnessed the databasing and processing power of the PC to help people find a job, a date, or other people with the same interests. I put my own Atari 800 computer to work simulating roulette. ...

    If you kept increasing your bet every time you lost a spin of the wheel, eventually your number would come up: The question was, would you earn back all the money you'd previously lost and make a profit? Yes. That is, you would if you did not first run into the table limit. ... How to get there without hitting the max bet? That's what I set out to simulate on my Atari computer. ... The program showed this to be a winning strategy, if perfectly executed."

    This interview took place on May 22, 2025.

    More Missions Accomplished at amazon: https://amzn.to/446MrVP

    At Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moremissionsacco0000timj/page/138/mode/2up

    Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/EW-pDXlBDQg
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    29 分