@fluidlogic I have a “nag list” of names that I remind periodically to find their stuff. Some I have to nag for years. Some just once or twice. I may not have ever reminded Ian. It was long ago

@fluidlogic he did not

@fluidlogic but also, online is easier and more searchable https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-mapping-the-atari and https://www.atariarchives.org/mapping

@fluidlogic I would imagine that it's reverted to Ian

I'm going back through the @ataripodcast library and heard @savetz mention a fun interview with Mark Knutsen, who won first prize at a science fair with his simulation of the gravitational interactions between four stars, which he implemented in #ValFORTH on an #Atari800 after reading an article by A. K. Dewdney in the January 1986 #ScientificAmerican magazine, outlining how star cluster behaviour is investigated using computational models.

The interview with Mark Knutsen is on YouTube, where he demonstrates his program running in an emulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwLgCPqi8FA

The same video on archive.org, if YouTube gives you the ick: https://archive.org/details/mark-knutsen

Mark's software as Atari disk images: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/324288-marks-1986-science-fair-project/

The podcast episode on which I heard Kay's mention of the interview: https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-episode-81-whos-in-control-the-atari-or-the-pi

The ValFORTH documentation, if you're inspired to explore further: https://archive.org/details/ValFORTHDocumentation/mode/1up

Thank you @savetz (and @floppydays!) for your time and effort arranging, recording, editing and publishing these interviews. It's important social history of a unique time and circumstance.

@jfaulken mmm hmm

Some guy is launching a new retrocomputing magazine called… COMPUTE!’s Gazette. The original magazine of that name was C64 only, but apparently this one is not

https://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/article/prlog-2025-4-11-iconic-computes-gazette-magazine-returns-after-35-years-expands-focus-to-entire-retro-computing

@Researchbuzz thank you

Here's my new interview with Bill and David Lappen, founders of Buy-Phone. Launched 1982, it may be the first online yellow pages. It provided business listings, movie times, and personal ads in the Los Angeles area, for free to callers at up to 1200 bits per second. https://youtu.be/jUXe_HN9SYE

Also: scans of Buy-Phone advertisements, news clippings, and ephemera https://archive.org/details/buy-phone

Interesting interview episode of "ANTIC, The Atari 8-bit Podcast" by @savetz with Steve Kranish, who reverse-engineered Frogger while at Parker Brothers to produce the 8kb cartridge version for the Atari, a format for which Parker Brothers had the rights.¹ (Remember the board games Monopoly, Clue[do], Risk and Trivial Pursuit? All Parker Brothers games.)

Steve is blisteringly critical of Parker management, repeatedly condemning them for being risk-averse and short-sighted, among other sins. His critique is refreshingly biting and gives a taste of the way incumbents flailed around, attempting to understand and predict the possibilities of computer gaming, sometimes handing a lead to a more adventurous competitor.

Episode webpage: https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-454-steve-kranish-parker-brothers-frogger

Media file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ataripodcast/ANTIC_Interview_454_Steve_Kranish_Parker_Brothers_Frogger.mp3

#RetroComputing #CrashOf83

¹ The legal shenanigans around Tetris stemmed from breaches the same kind of format-dependant licencing arrangements.

Vintage Tech Stickers: time to remind ourselves what we can truly count on. https://www.vintagetechstickers.com

I created this site years ago. Free, printable versions of the founding documents of the USA, including the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and other rights laid out by America's founders. No ads, no tracking. https://www.PrintableConstitution.com

@skyfaller yay. now buy their music :)

Useful tonight for #tiktok Americans with command line skillz:

yt-dlp -o "%(id)s.%(ext)s" h t t p://tiktok.com/@username

(remove the extra spaces in http — mastodon is trying to be helpful by making it a link)

Hot off the podcast press Atari 8-bit goodness https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-episode-113-feeling-fancy

I've posted my annual letter summarizing my computer history work in the past year. It’s an opportunity to take stock, reflect on accomplishments, and make a plan for the new year. It's my longest-ever "Wrapped" letter, signifying a productive year! https://www.patreon.com/posts/kays-2024-119233408

Christmas morning 40 years ago, I got an Apple //c

For our _next_ episode of Eaten By A Grue, @Carrington and I will play Fish! by Magnetic Scrolls. Play along with us, if you like! https://msmemorial.if-legends.org/games.htm/fish.php

Finally, a new episode of the Eaten By A Grue podcast is out! In which @Carrington and I play Scott Adams' first text adventure, Adventureland. monsterfeet.com/grue/notes/56

@karttu @jgeorge regular warm running water is fine. Dab with lint-free cloth to dry