Open Apple

Open Apple #90 (August 2026): KansasFest 2026 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:36:48 +0000

Welcome to Metal Video RPG Lock, the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest 2026.

Participants:

Ken Gagne (Open Apple & Transporter Lock)
Ron McAdams (Ron’s Computer Videos, Retro Repair Roundup & Olde World Tech Fridays: Sunday Edition)
Megan Lemmert (6502 Workshop & Retro RPG Roundtable)
Kate Szknotnicki (RetroMetal)

Videos of all KansasFest sessions mentioned in this episode are available on YouTube. Here’s a video version of this podcast.

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Open Apple #89 (August 2025): INIT HELLO Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 20:04:40 +0000

Welcome to the first INIT HELLO Megapodcast! INIT HELLO is an Apple II conference that debuted in July 2025 at the System Source Computer Museum in Hunt Valley, Maryland. A week later, on August 2, six podcaster attendees gathered to reflect on their experiences at inaugural retrocomputing event.

Participants:

Kate Szknotnicki (RetroMetal)
Paul Hagstrom (Retro Computing Roundtable)
Blake Patterson (The Byte Cellar)
Megan Lemmert (6502 Workshop & Retro RPG Roundtable)
Charles Mangin (Chicken Missile)
Ken Gagne (Open Apple & Transporter Lock)

Thanks to Paul for editing this episode’s audio! The original video edition is embedded below.

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Open Apple #88 (July 2025): KansasFest 2025 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 21:06:03 +0000

Welcome to Ron’s Apple Transporter Roundtable, the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest 2025.

Participants:

Ken Gagne (Open Apple & Transporter Lock)
Ron McAdams (Ron’s Computer Videos & Retro Repair Roundup)
Megan Lemmert (6502 Workshop & Retro RPG Roundtable)

Links mentioned in this episode:

KansasFest
Mike Westerfield’s KansasFest 1998 keynote speech
INIT HELLO
Skull Island by 8-Bit Shack
From Apple to Zilog by Chuck Mauro
Dan Bricklin
Ryan Suenaga Scholarship Fund

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Open Apple #87: The 2025 Episode

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 22:11:39 +0000

Ken, Em & Quinn reunite to discuss KansasFest & INIT HELLO, ImageWriter printers, Steve Jobs movies, web-based Apple II emulation, and games we regret buying.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Intro (00:00 – 11:45)

II News (11:46 – 1:02:43)

KansasFest 2025 goes virtual
Laine Nooney at INIT HELLO
The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal
Steve Jobs movies
Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs
Chronologically Gaming
MobyGames
Glider
Apple2TS
Apple II RPG Development Tools (KansasFest 2024 presentation by Megan Lemmert)
Ivan Drucker’s emulator reviews for Juiced.GS
Plangman on Steam, Itch.io & IndieSider
Building an Apple II Newsroom (via Hackaday)
Rock-a-Fire Explosion LP released for Record Store Day

Apple Pickings (1:02:44 – 1:19:28)

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Open Apple #86 (July 2018): John Keoni Morris of Applesauce FDC

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 00:14:09 +0000

In this lost episode of Open Apple, recorded 14 July 2018, Em Maginnis and Quinn Dunki are joined by John Morris, creator of the Applesauce floppy disk controller.

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Open Apple #85: The Apple II Origins of Today’s Games

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 16:53:31 +0000

On Saturday, September 28, 2024, the Portland Retro Gaming Expo hosted this panel:

The Apple II Origins of Today’s Games

The Apple II is known for its impact on the workplace (VisiCalc) and education (Oregon Trail) — but it was also an iconic games machine that launched and inspired franchises that continue to these days. From the early stealth action of Castle Wolfenstein to the strategic depth of Ultima and the revolutionary platforming of Prince of Persia, our panel will delve into how these classic titles laid the groundwork for today’s blockbuster games.

Ken Gagne, Kay Savetz, and Ian Baronofsky participated in the 45-minute panel, a video of which PRGE recently made available.

The audio was separately recorded by Kay Savetz, who has made it available for us to share as an episode of the Open Apple podcast.

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Open Apple #84 (July 2024): KansasFest 2024 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:24:59 +0000

Welcome to Ron’s Metal Roundtable Apple Assembly Lock, the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest 2024, hosted IRL and on StreamYard.

Participants:

Ken Gagne (Open Apple, Polygamer & Transporter Lock)
Kate Szknotnicki (RetroMetal)
Chris Torrence (Assembly Lines)
Ron McAdams (Ron’s Computer Videos & Retro Repair Roundup)
Paul Hagstrom (Retro Computing Roundtable & Drop /// Inches)

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Open Apple #83 (July 2023): KansasFest 2023 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:11:00 +0000

Welcome to the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest 2023, hosted IRL and on Zoom.

Participants:

Paul Hagstrom (Retrocomputing Roundtable & Drop /// Inches)
Ron McAdams (Ron’s Computer Videos)
Kate Szknotnicki (LadyAiluros) (Retro Metal)
Javier Rivera (Retro Repair Roundtable)
Chris Torrence (Assembly Lines)
Josh Malone (48KRAM)
Ken Gagne (Juiced.GS, A2Central.com & Open Apple)

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Open Apple #82 (July 2022): KansasFest 2022 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Open Retro Chicken Drop Retro Adventure Table Lines Roundup, the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest, hosted IRL and on Zoom.

Participants:

Ken Gagne (Open Apple, Polygamer & Transporter Lock)
Charles Mangin (Chicken Missile)
Chris Torrence (Assembly Lines)
Javier Rivera (Adventures in Retro Computing & Retro Repair Roundtable)
Ron McAdams (Ron’s Computer Videos & Retro Repair Roundtable)
Jeremy Mehrle (Jeremy’s Retro Bar)
Paul Hagstrom (Retro Computing Roundtable, Drop /// Inches)

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Open Apple #81: Remembering Tony Diaz

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sat, 06 Nov 2021 00:14:14 +0000

Tony Diaz

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Ladies and gentlemen, our esteemed committee chair.

For decades, Tony Diaz held the record of the only person to have attended every KansasFest. Whether at that convention, on the comp.sys.apple2 Usenet newsgroup, or on his livestreams, he would share his comprehensive knowledge of Apple II hardware and demo the rare prototypes in his vast collection. When KansasFest lost its home at Avila University, Tony, then the head of the KansasFest committee, helped find the event its new home at Rockhurst. And as a member of the Juiced.GS staff, he would respond to reader queries about how to restore their vintage equipment.

In memory of Tony, who passed away in October 2021, Open Apple‘s original co-hosts, Em Maginnis and Ken Gagne, reunite to remember their friend and his passions, accomplishments, quirks, and foibles.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the crisis hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

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Open Apple #80 (July 2021): KansasFest 2021 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 14:45:34 +0000

Welcome to Poly Retro Assembly Cast Chicken Missile Drop Grue Museum, the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest, hosted again via Zoom.

Participants:

The original video edition was livestreamed to YouTube:

A longer audio edition is available from the Chicken Missile podcast.

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Open Apple #79 (July 2020): KansasFest 2020 Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 01:05:15 +0000

Welcome to Retro Open Poly Roundtable Chicken Missile Lines Drop Museum Gruecast, the annual “megapodcast” from KansasFest, this time conducted virtually via Zoom. Scroll past the links for Open Apple‘s audio edition, or enjoy the video edition courtesy Chris Torrence’s Assembly Lines podcast:

Participants:

Quinn Dunki (Blondihacks, Open Apple, Retrocomputing Roundtable)
Earl Evans (Retrocomputing Roundtable, Next Without For, Retrobits)
Ken Gagne (Polygamer, Transporter Lock)
Paul Hagstrom (Retrocomputing Roundtable, Drop III Inches)
John Leake (RetroMacCast)
Charles Mangin (How II)
Rob McMullen (Player/Missile)
Blake Patterson (Retrocomputing Roundtable)
Kay Savetz (ANTIC: The Atari 8-Bit Podcast, Eaten By A Grue)
Kate Szkotnicki (RetroMetal: Old Games on Old Machines)
Carrington Vanston (Retrocomputing Roundtable, Eaten By A Grue)

Game-related links:

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Open Apple #78 (September 2018) – Retro Antic Assembly Chicken Missile Talks Our Way Out Of It

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 02:39:44 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we bring you the traditional big group podcast that we record every year at KansasFest. Tune in for a casual chat with your favorite retro podcasters, and get a behind-the-scenes peek at what makes KansasFest special. This year we managed to twist the following arms into joining us:

Quinn Dunki – Open Apple
Carrington Vanston – Retrocomputing Roundtable, Eaten By A Grue
Paul Hagstrom – Retrocomputing Roundtable, Drop III Inches
Ken Gagne – Retrocomputing Roundtable, Polygamer, Transporter Lock
Charles Mangin – How II
Steve Weyrich – Retrocomputing Roundtable
Kay Savetz – ANTIC, Eaten By A Grue, Tech Enthusiast Hour
Chris Torrence – Assembly Lines
Jason Scott – Jason Scott Talks His Way Out Of It

You’ll have to excuse the strained voices and general discombobulation, as we generally record this sometime in the middle of the night on what-feels-like day 400 of KFest, in a dank basement chapel. It’s way more fun than I just made it sound. You should come to the next KansasFest!

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Open Apple #77 (March 2018) – Kay Savetz & Carrington Vanston, Eaten By A Grue

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 10:41:35 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Kay Savetz and Carrington Vanston of the Eaten By A Grue podcast. Eaten By A Grue is a game-by-game style of podcast where the intrepid hosts are playing every Infocom game. They both play the game, then discuss it in detail, with and without spoilers. They discuss the amount of cheating required, how mapping was done, the quality of writing and puzzles, and so on. The show has a very nice structure wherein they discuss the show with no spoilers to the halfway point, so that you can stop and go play it yourself if you are so inclined. If not, you can keep listening and hear gory details of all the puzzles.

Kevin talks about getting beasts into bed, and other reasons not to play these games on real hardware. Meanwhile Carrington gets his feelies on and brags about how he has so many original copies of Infocom games that he sits on them for fun.

Meanwhile Mike and Quinn debate dubious silicon valley histories, wedge computers, and competing with other 8-bits in BASIC. Tune in to hear us malign our guests, misremember important names, and get super pedantic about connector nomenclature for no conceivable reason. You won’t want to miss a moment of the drama.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

The Eaten By A Grue podcast – Listen for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
Zoom – A great way to play Infocom games on modern systems.
The CPRG Book Project – A great free book that is a work-in-progress.
Roger Wagner to keynote KansasFest – Accidentally timely information!
WozFest DB9 -Announced, and, well… happened a while ago.
Full BBS Documentary interviews – All the B-roll now online for listening.
MOS Technology – The old building is entering a new chapter.
Home-brew Apple /// – Chris Zuhar’s project marches on.
Apple //e Intro – Harry McKracken talks about it, and shares old photos.
Adventure Game Rockstars Live – Transcript of this historical event.
Eamon Remastered – Another text adventure engine modernized for the web.
FApple II Fest 2018 – Japanese Apple II gathering.
Scart HDMI for GS – A handy solution to the IIgs’ challenging video problems.
Apple 1 in Verilog – Get your own enhanced Apple I running on an FPGA.
CFFA3000 Run #5 -The last(?) run is done. I hope you got one!
Plasma 1.0 – Support for more chips, and ready to use.
AppleWin updated – Bug fixes, administrative stuff.
BASIC 10-liner contest – Was underway, but is now probably done.
Javier demos WiModem232 – A really great device- get it while you can.
Sneakers on BoingBoing – Sneakers on BoingBoing!
IIc as a wedge – According to some folks, anyway.
Rastan source – Discovered? John Brooks is unimpressed. Neat story, anyway.
Silicon Valley miniseries – Maybe it happened? Is it still happening? Nobody knows.
Nestle/Atari lawsuit settled – Be careful how you sell Kit Kats.
Woz’s company fails – But we still love him anyway.

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Open Apple #76 (January 2018) – Ken Gagne & Andy Molloy, Juiced.GS, Nukes

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 01:47:27 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Ken Gagne and Andy Molloy of Juiced.GS, the longest running continuously published Apple II magazine (that you can still get in your mailbox to this day!). Juiced.GS is in its 23rd year, which has to be a record for magazines of almost any type.

Ken and Andy talk about the bloodless coup of the magazine, the long history of same, where things are headed, and why they hates trees.

Meanwhile, Quinn and Mike chat about FPGAs, nuclear weapons, and BBSes. What do you do when you need a mathematically provably correct piece of hardware to verify nuclear weapons compliance? Why, you grab your Apple II, of course! Duh!

Here’s a time sensitive news item that didn’t make it into the show- vote for Nox Archaist and Lawless Legends for your favorite Ultima-inspired indie games of 2017!

Stay tuned for a Tech segment where we follow up on last episode and go even deeper on fast IIgs graphics. There’s always more to know about the intricacies of squeezing performance out of this unique and beautiful machine.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Juiced.GS – Subscribe here and get Apple II goodness direct to your mailbox every quarter!
Tiger Learning Computer – Andy’s photo gallery of this fascinating artifact.
Juiced.GS FAQ – Find out why there’s no PDF, and stop asking Ken about it.
Byteworks Tools – Now for sale from Juiced.GS.
IIgs Build Pipeline – Jeremy Rand’s ORCA/GoldenGate-based tool chain.
Apple II+ FPGA – All the cool kids are doing it.
Apple I on an ESP8266 – A very unique torturing of a commodity device.
Apple II for Nukes – What to do when you need to really verify something.
Ready Player ][ – A BBS scavenger hunt! With prizes!
Jeremy Barr-Hyde’s Collection – More goodies here and here!
CFFA Run 5! – This is great news!!
DOS 4.4 – A skunkworks project from Brutal Deluxe.
Virtual II Updated – The best emulator keeps getting better.
Call A.P.P.L.E – 2017 winter magazine released.
Apple IIe is 35 – Happy birthday to the letter ‘E’.
ADT Pro 2.0.2 – Not compatible with High Sierra? Be careful.
ProDOS 2.4.2 – Now in Beta!
Nox Archaist Kickstarter – It’s rebooting. Stay tuned!
Prince of Persia – It changed the way game animation is done.
Jason Scott and Benj Edwards – They both have new podcasts. Give a listen!
Apple Time Warp – A rare gem of a podcast. Worth your patience.
Eaten By A Grue – The best internationally co-hosted Infocom podcast.
Kay Savetz

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Open Apple #75 (October 2017) – Seth Sternberger, Class Apples, GS Graphics

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 16:58:59 +0000

We’re baaaack! Sorry for the unscheduled hiatus folks, but your intrepid hosts had some family matters to attend to. This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Seth Steinberger of 8-bit Weapon. We talk about their new album Class Apples, which was made entirely on an Apple II. Yes, every sound on the album is generated by real Apple II hardware with no add-on cards. Apple IIs can make good sound with the right software and in the hands of a talented musician.

After the amazement of Class Apples wears off, we get into Seth’s background with Apple IIs, how he got interested in electronic music, how 8-bit Weapon came to be, and where they’re headed next. We touch a little bit on his work as the main artist on the upcoming RPG Lawless Legends, and Seth explains how much better keyboards are as compared to proms. Furthermore, we all agree that the primary value of the internet is to find pictures of Devo. Michelle wasn’t able to be on the show, but you won’t want to miss the story of how she got to work with Mark Mothersbaugh.

Mike and Quinn then get into augmented reality, alternative operating systems, and of course Richard Garriot. Can’t have an Apple II show without mentioning Richard Garriot. Stay tuned to hear about accelerator control, new magazines, and making your own memory cards.

Lastly, Quinn goes deep on how to program fast graphics on the notoriously “crippled” Apple IIgs. Yes, you can do big beautiful sprites at high frame rates. Learn all about the deep dark secrets that the best games and demos used.

Help keep the Garage Giveaway running at KansasFest! Donate here to keep it a thing. It’s one of the greatest services the Apple II community has, and we’re going to lose it this year if we don’t get donations.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

8-bit Weapon – The greatest chiptunes group around.
Class Apples – The greatest (read: only) pure Apple II album.
4Play List – All the software for the four-player joystick card.
Checkpoint – An Augmented-Reality-ish game project for Apple II.
A2OSX – A new multitasking OS for Apple II, with discussion.
KansasFest HackFest – The judging videos are finally online for 2017. Better late than never.
Homebrew Club AR – Yes, a second Apple II-related augmented reality item!
TechCrunch analyzes Apple’s IPO – Back when tech IPOs were shiny and new.
Breakout – A very reasonable book claiming Apple II’s starting of various revolutions.
Carmen Sandiego – The making of! A great story.
Richard Garriot – Another telling of his getting-started story.
Timezone for Apple II – Yes, it exists, but maybe only in Akihabara.
NORMFAST – A handy accelerator controller.
SAFE2 on High Sierra – A note on compatibility with this FTP client.
CiderPress 4.0.2 – A nice little update of the best disk image manager.
Web-based assembler – 6502 on the web. Why not?
Antoine’s IIx project – Adult software collection- not so family-friendly, but historical.
Latest Call A.P.P.L.E – Get it while you can!
Latest Juiced.GS – Magazines for all!
DIY Memory – Make your own memory card for you two GS. Here’s one way.
Jeremy Rand’s GS build pipeline – He showed it at KansasFest, now you can have it.
Merlin32 – Brutal Deluxe’s build pipeline for Windows.
The fast GS graphics path. These links will help you understand fast GS graphics:
- https://apple2.gs/technotes/tn/iigs/TN.IIGS.070.txt
- https://archive.org/details/IIGS_epluche_French
- http://www.brutaldeluxe.fr/products/crossdevtools/mrspritetech/index.html
- https://apple2.gs/library.php
X10 on Apple II – You can still them, if you want.
Donate HERE to keep the Garage Giveaway going at KansasFest!

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Open Apple #74 (September 2017) – Megan Lemmert, Nox Archaist Kickstarter, Fake Quinn, and Softalk #5

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 15:30:44 +0000

This month on Open Apple, the part of Quinn Dunki is played by RCR Podcast co-host Carrington “Fake Quinn” Vanston. A post-KansasFest Megan Lemmert of 6502 Workshop returns to the show to promote the new Nox Archaist Kickstarter. You should contribute because it’s awesome to support those still developing for the Apple II and not just because you get cool stuff when you do (though that’s a thing that happens too!).

There’s lots of news to cover and Carrington has opinions on all of it. Only on Open Apple can you hear him trash clones, accelerators, ProDOS, retro BBSes, and a random assortment of other topics! Fun for the whole family! We also chat about Apple II music and there’s general confusion about Australian Apple II conferences (when is there not on Open Apple?)

eBay isn’t talked about (because we don’t talk about eBay) and we deconstruct Softalk #5.

RCR Podcast – Listen to this show! (but only after you listen to Open Apple)

Monsterfeet – All things Carrington

Nox Archaist – 6502 Workshop’s upcoming RPG for the Apple II

Nox Archaist Kickstarter

Nox Archaist on YouTube – Keep up with all the latest development news

ANTIC – Mike goes all Atari in this episode of ANTIC, the Atari Podcast

Nox Archaist Demo at KansasFest 2017

FlexiDisc – All your Apple II software needs. Now on bendy vinyl!

Tech Republic’s Evan Koblentz visits KansasFest

KansasFest YouTube channel

KansasFest 2018 dates announced – Be there!

Another Apple-1 auction – This time at Charitybuzz

Woz talks about the Zaltair ad

Rainbow Apple logo retired 18 years ago

PCWeek visits the Living Computers Museum

Elk Cloner wasn’t the first computer virus

Retro Roundup

MultiTech Micro Professor III (MPF-III) clone

WOzFest S7,D2

Oz Kfest

a2.click – A URL shortener for Apple II sites

FASTChip //e accelerator – Currently out of stock

Quinn fixes the beep

Captain’s Quarters BBS resurrected

Adventures in Flatland isn’t just a book

John Brooks’ Bitsy Rip preview

Introducing DSKalyzer, a command-line disk tool written in Go

RIP French Touch

Review:‘The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs’ at Santa Fe Opera

New 8 Bit Weapon Album: Class Apples

Harry Spragens’ Apple II music memories

Portal on an Apple II – Not Apple II Portal. Confused yet?

A musical performance sync’d to Apple II animation

Stynx’s Vintage Micro Music channel on Soundcloud

The Octalyzer – 3D video on your Apple II

Paleotronic Magazine – Retro-technology for today’s world!

Albert Computer Apple II clone – We don’t talk about eBay

Softalk #5

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Open Apple #73 (August 2017) – Assembly Chicken PolyANTICast Roundtable

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 05:21:41 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we run the annual group megapodcast that is recorded live at KansasFest! This is a four-year-old tradition whereby all the attending retro podcasters get together and do one big silly show together. It’s clunky, it’s pointless, and the audio quality is terrible because we’re all crowded one microphone in a grungy old basement chapel. Yet it’s one of our favorite things to do every year, so we hope you enjoy listening!

Around the table this year we have Quinn Dunki, Paul Hagstrom, John Leake, Chris Torrence, Kay Savetz, Ken Gagne, Charles Mangin, and Carrington Vanston, and Michael Mulhern. Find links to all the podcasts mentioned in this show, after the jump!

Feel like you’re missing out on all this fun? Come to KansasFest in 2018 and join in! We’d all love to meet you.

Open Apple – Hurr hurr

Retrocomputing Roundtable – A revolving discussion group of all things retrocomputing

Drop III Inches – The Apple III podcast. Don’t drop it!

Retro MacCast – Where great old Macs live again!

Assembly Lines – A video channel with all sorts of Apple II projects.

ANTIC – The Atari 8-bit podcast. It’s so good that Quinn won’t even boo it.

Eaten By A Grue – The Infocom podcast. Gotta play ’em all!

PolyGamer – All about equality and diversity in gaming.

How II – The video channel for learning how to work with your Apple II.

The post Open Apple #73 (August 2017) – Assembly Chicken PolyANTICast Roundtable first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #72 (June 2017) – Peter Neubauer, KansasFest, Last Jedi

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 13:35:12 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with KansasFest committee member and lifelong Apple II user Peter Neubauer. We talk lots about the upcoming KansasFest, of course, but also Peter’s own experiences with the machine. He has a passion for Logo, and a special place in his heart reserved for the Apple IIc Plus. I think many of us can relate to that.

We talk KansasFest, KansasFest, and more KansasFest. Then we talk about KansasFest, followed conversation about a fruit-based retrocomputing conference that takes place in Missouri every July.

We have plenty of regular news to catch up on as well, so stay tuned for updates from 6502 Workshop, NinjaForce, and more. We have graphics talk, Bluetooth talk, and exciting new accelerators from the mad Bulgarian.

It’s already too late to register for KansasFest, but if you’re going to be there, make sure to say hi! We love to meet our listeners.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

KansasFest – It’s that time of year!
BrutalDeluxe – This year’s keynote speakers, all the way from France!
Hi-Res Graphics and Animation In Assembly Language – Finally scanned!
6502 Workshop Expanding – Their empire building continues.
Wade Clarke Plays His Own – Does your own work hold up 30 years later?
NinjaForce at Revision – The IIgs is back in the limelight of the demo scene.
NinjaForce Demo – Here’s the actual disk image, with some bug fixes.
Lo-Res Graphics in Assembly – Tom Porter shows how it’s done.
New books from Call A.P.P.L.E – Synergistic and more.
Alex Lukazi explores Bluetooth – The Apple II dongle heard round the world.
Battlestations teaches DHGR– A great tutorial on the most difficult graphics mode.
The Last Jedi trailer on a //c – Rendered the hard way. Don’t miss the making of.
FASTchip review – The hottest new 8-bit accelerator, reviewed by Jorma.
FTP Tool set for IIgs – Unlock real file transfer power with this new tools.
Apple II Pi 2.2 – An update for the niftiest way to get modern hardware inside your II.
Palm-sized Apple II – Yes, it works! More information here.
New BBS running on real hardware – Apple IIs still make the best BBS hosts.
WOzFest Slot 7 announced – They still have a few clever numbering ideas.
Golden Gate Compatibility Layer – Kelvin Sherlock has been busy.
Jorma acquires a rare Chinese clone – Great pictures of a rare (in the west) beast.
Lemonade Stand lives on – Microsoft ports it to modern platforms for some reason.
Apple Employee #3 selling his ranch – If you have a few dozen million to throw around.
Yet another Apple I auction – They continue to decline in price. Meh.
Where the first Apple was built – Someone found the actual apartment.
KansasFest Offers and Deals – Too late to register, but bring your wallets!
Woz says Apple is too big – To innovate, anyway.
WeeGUI – Quinn’s MouseText-based GUI library.

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Open Apple #71 (May 2017) – Michael Packard, Alien Downpour, Kermit (The Frog)

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 31 May 2017 00:59:47 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Michael Packard, author of the upcoming new game Alien Downpour. Michael has gone back to teach himself assembly language and make the kinds of games he wished he had made back in the day. The results are indeed impressive, and his first foray into solo Apple II game production is shaping up great. He’s also been very encouraging to the community, having set up the Facebook group Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design Enthusiasts, dedicated to the book by the same name. This group is a place for Michael to share his progress on his games, as well as for other people to jump in with their own projects.

As of this recording, you can still pre-order Alien Downpour over at Michael’s site. Remarkably, you can order it on floppy or cassette! It comes with a retro-style baggie and insert as well. Michael is writing a book on his experiences (re)learning all this, so keep an eye out for that as well. He’ll also be at KansasFest this year with a presentation on Alien Downpour. Register now so you can see that! You won’t want to miss Michael’s perfect re-impersonation of the Egghead Discount Software answering message.

Meanwhile, Mike and Quinn get stuff wrong on a great many topics, but have fun doing it. If you want to try using a IIgs as your daily driver, launch cows with extreme prejudice, or run GEOS on a weird piece of hardware, you’ve come to the right podcast.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Alien Downpour – Pre-order it now! Michael’s first solo Apple II game is looking great.
Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design – A great FB group about a great book!
Apple II+ Prototype? – A rare-looking machine found by John Romero.
Leigh Alexander on archiving – She sits down with 4am and Jason Scott.
Apple II viruses – There’s more than just Elk Cloner!
Educational games are under appreciated – Check out the premiere muppet-based GUI.
Cow-a-pult – A great new vignette from 6502 Workshop.
8-Bit-Do firmware – It has been 8-bit-updated, and Chris Torrence reports.
Caverns of Mordia – Improved coverage of this great story.
Apple IIgs resurrected – Onsite action at the most recent WozFest.
WozFest PR#6 – Lots of cool announcements from Oz this year.
AFP Bridge – TCP/IP and AppleShare getting easier (no more LocalTalk).
Using a IIgs in 2017 – A well-meaning dude takes a shot at it.
GeoBook for sale – An auction for one of the rare GEOS-based laptops.
GeoBooks are a thing – They have fans, because of course they do.
Might & Magic – Mike and Quinn like it, and you will too (especially on Apple II)
HowardSoft – It still exists! Take that, Microsoft Word.

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Open Apple #70 (April 2017) – 6502 Workshop, 1st-Person Lo-Res, Softalk #4

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 02:53:02 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Megan Lemmert, co-founder of 6502 Workshop. She and her partners (Mike Reimer, Bill Giggie, Robert Padovan, Gordon Mackay, and Galactagog) have been building Nox Archaist, a brand new story-driven tile-based role-playing game in the classical Ultima style. They’re pushing the hardware as far as they can with this new engine, working to break new ground in scope, story, animation, sound, and music. Early builds look great, and we’re really excited to see more!

Megan’s journey with the Apple II parallels a lot of us. The machine sparked an interest in programming, and a fascination with RPGs and tile engines in particular. Nox Archaist is the fulfillment of that childhood dream to build such a game from scratch. Megan shares her war stories (that many of us can relate to) of strewing our childhood computers with half-baked game engines that were doomed from the start. As she and her team are proving, it’s never too late to revive and achieve that dream.

KansasFest 2017 registration is now open! Early bird rates in effect as of this posting, so don’t wait. Attendance is limited to 100 this year. Sign up now! Megan will be there and likely demonstrating Nox Archaist, so you won’t want to miss that.

Meanwhile, Mike and Quinn yammer on about new hardware, new old games, old new games, and of course Woz. Also back this month is the controversial Softalk segment. Read along with us in issue #4!

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

6502 Workshop – The team building Nox Archaist.
Using Assembly Language (PDF) – By Randy Hyde, the book that got Megan started.
Hi-Res Graphics and Animation Using Assembly Language – Does not appear to be online.
Dogfighters of Mars 2 (demo) – Get it now before his dropbox limit is hit!
Manila Gear 2soniq – Now distributed by ReactiveMicro.
KansasFest Registration – Early bird rates in effect. 100 person limit! Go now!
WozFest PR#6 announced – If you’re on the bottom of our blue rock, you should go.
Light Cycles 3D – A game killed in 1977 is finally released! Better late than never.
MIDI to Mockingboard – Tom Porter has a nifty conversion tool.
Woz on why he likes computers – It’s Woz! He’s saying stuff!
Softalk #4 – Follow along with us as we re-live 1980 one periodical at a time.
SFX Audio – Promo for Tom Porter’s Apple II sound library.

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Open Apple #69 (March 2017) – Craig Peterson, KansasFest, Computer Show!

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 02:31:53 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Craig Peterson, who got involved with hardware and software development very early in the life of the Apple II. Craig integrated Apple II computers with a numerical control manufacturing system, producing G-code for the cutting machines in a factory. He was a pioneer in using the Apple II for what computers are actually good at- moving data around in an automated fashion and abstracting away sources of human error in a complex process.

Craig wrote technical articles for all the major Apple magazines, which led to him getting involved with Chinook. Craig wrote diagnostic and utility software for Chinook drives in the then exciting burgeoning new field of SCSI devices. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the need to precisely time SCSI drive interleavings prompted Craig to create a universal driver for the No Slot Clock.

KansasFest Early Registration is now open! Sign up now, because attendance is limited to 100 this year.

Meanwhile, listen as Quinn confirms that French people are from France, Mike spots the only Apple III in a hundred mile radius, and another boring Apple I auction happens. There’s double-hires, there’s outgoing preservationists, and there are lots of Australians. So many Australians.

A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show! A new episode of Computer Show!

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

KansasFest early registration – Sign up now before the price goes up!
Floppy Emu B enclosure – A community effort.
Elk Cloner turns 35 – The author would really like us all to forget it.
Apple I auction – Yup, another one. Blah de blah.
Alien Downpour – Michael Packard is now taking pre-orders. Get yours now!
GSPlus and more – Dagen Brock has been releasing his projects.
Apple explores DRM – The infamous copy protection memos that are in the news.
Nox Archaist updates – The Ultima-like continues to make strong progress.
Oz KFest gets dates – Sign up if your country has spiders that eat birds!
Brutal Deluxe to keynote – Come to KFest and meet the French legends.
Dos 3.3 Sector Viewer – John Brooks builds it small.
Virtual II updated – Full screen support is back.
Apple IIc launch photos – New media turns up from the big 1984 event.
Go go gadget preservation – Jason Scott makes things happen in the news.
Exploring DHGR – Alex Lukazi plays with color theory.
A new episode of Computer Show! – Go watch it now.
Think iPhones cost too little? – Here’s a way to spend a lot more for some reason.
Transputers revisited – A listener link that explains it much better than we did.
Atari Transputing – Our listeners love these things, as it turns out.

The post Open Apple #69 (March 2017) – Craig Peterson, KansasFest, Computer Show! first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #68 (February 2017) : Emulator Updates, EDD, Softalk #3

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 23:14:49 +0000

This month on Open Apple, Mike and Quinn sit down with each other and catch up on all the news they’ve been neglecting lately.

Mike and Quinn discuss the disappointing 8BitDo controller, get excited about remanufactured printer ribbons, and pretend to know anything about EDD.

Follow along as we review Softalk volume 1, number 3. The ads are always the best part! Meanwhile, we manage to sneak in one more Kay Savetz reference, and a Boo Atari in the same breath. That’s the Open Apple Way.

You won’t want to miss this month’s Apology to Call A.P.P.L.E segment. We’re going to need a bumper for that (and the Australians) soon. Despite all this terribleness, please give us money. Because costs.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Gingerbread Apple II – Delicious, if not nutritious.
Eight-Bit-No – Turns out the controller we were all excited about is kinda meh.
Assembly Lines #42 – Chris Torrence reviews the 8BitDo controller.
Assembly Lines #43 – Another follow-up on the 8BitDo.
Apple II on an AVR – Emulating a small system on another small system.
The new Portal on the old II – That Kerbal guy strikes again.
Imagewriter II lives again – Yes, you CAN still get those color ribbons!
Virtual II updated – The best OS X emulator is now even better.
Some guy buys a Porsche – At least he spent too much.
Lemonade Stand as a chatbot – A very modern way to play a very old game.
GBBS Pro now GPL – All the gees, bees, and pees.
Wade Clark saves a teenage legacy – You should do this with your stuff too.
Quinn saves her own legacy – In two parts.
More Burroughs on Apple II – Michael Mahon continues to update his nifty toy.
WOzFest PR#6 – The Australians are doin’ stuff again.
Sweet16 status – Sheppy let’s us know what’s up.
Teen collector extraordinaire – Sells his collection to keep a dream alive.
Apple II on a C.H.I.P. – No, not the Mega II. A different “chip”.
RetroConnector – The presumed source for the enclosure on the above project.
Transputer for the Apple II – It turns out “transputing” is a thing.
Origin of the Transputer story – A2Central, as always, gets the scoop.
Fixing Three Mile Island – The game, not the infamous power plant.
I’m fEDD Up 2.2 – An update to the floppy archival tool of choice.
The EDD Project – Paul Hagstrom tells the story of trying to save floppies at high-res.
Tony Diaz speaks – He tells the story of the GS/OS 6.0.3 file typing bug.
Ryan Suenaga’s software – A valuable archive, preserved!
Rare 13MHz UltraWarp – The accelerator that nobody has heard of.
Softalk Vol 1 No 3 – Follow along with us!
John Romero’s Alien Attack – A great writeup on this early production.
Floppy Days podcast – The HP85 series is especially interesting.

The post Open Apple #68 (February 2017) : Emulator Updates, EDD, Softalk #3 first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #67 (January 2017) : Year End Roundtable!

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 18:24:00 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we round out the year with our annual tradition of sitting around a virtual table with some friends of the show, discussing whatever comes to mind. Mike and Quinn are joined by Jeremy Barr-Hyde, Jorma Honkanen, Kate Szkotnicki & Chris Torrence.

We have a really fun mix of Apple II fans from all walks of life and all parts of the world this month. Sit down with us as we discuss our history with the machines and how they fit into our lives today. Can retrocomputers be teaching tools for kids today? Can an Apple II serve a practical role in modern life? What was your unicorn accessory or software package back in the day? How do we get new faces to KansasFest? We chat about all this and more, so don’t miss it!

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Jeremy – Retro Blog and Google Drive full of Apple II scans.
Jorma – The FinApple, source of all things Apple II in Finland.
Kate – Streaming console gaming and soon Apple II, on Twitch.
Chris – The Assembly Lines video podcast, and the Hyperduino project with Roger Wagner.
Mike – As always, his scanned document site is a great resource.
Quinn – Blondihacks blog, with Apple II projects and crazy otherness.

The post Open Apple #67 (January 2017) : Year End Roundtable! first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #66 (December 2016) : Glenda “The Atom” Adams

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 23:30:07 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Glenda Adams, better known on the Apple II as The Atom. She was a cracker of some note back in the 1980s, and she shares great stories with us of her exploits in boot tracing, cracking, and distributing software in the glory days of the Apple II BBS scene.

We talk about the journey from programming to cracking, and back to programming again. We talk about the politics of the Apple II scene, and the unique experience of cracking software remotely. Think fixing your grandparents’ printer over the phone is hard? Trying cracking a game!

Can you deduce the release date of Fontrix by time-lining Apple II crack screens? We leave that as an exercise to the listener. Meanwhile, Glenda shares stories of porting Space Rogue, parties at Lord British’s house, and the old-school feel of early iOS development.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Apple II Crack Screens – A list that includes many greats, including The Atom.
Fontrix – You can play with this still-neat tool on Internet Archive.
Call A.P.P.L.E Books – Here they are!
Buckshot – Dagen Brock’s GUI for Bill Buckels’ image converter.
SD MIDI II+ – Ian Kim’s clone of a classic MIDI card.
Open A.P.P.L.E. – We accidentally wrote a column for a magazine.
Magazine scans – Jeremy Barr-Hyde scans A2 Central and Open Apple (not us).
WozFest 5.25″ recap – It happened! Fun was had! It was recapped!
Caverns of Mordia re-released – Play it again, Sam! Or Quinn or Mike!
Apple training videos – A great archive of rips of internal VHS materials. 80’s hair!
Applesoft webserver – Thanks to the untapped potential of the Uthernet II.
Uthernet II – buy one and put your Apple II on the internet.
Alien Downpour – Work continues on Michael Packard’s upcoming game.
Apple Graphics And Arcade Game Design Enthusiasts – A good book despite the name.
Apple’s abandoned businesses – The things Apple doesn’t love anymore.
Corey Cohen takes over Apple I clone support – Mike Willegal is frying bigger fish.
Blake Patterson’s holiday demos – An annual retro tradition.
Repairing Convict – Recording lost floppy data the hard way.
Rev 0 Apple II #0025 – Some photos of a verrrry early II.
Analysis of Apple II game rankings – A great state of the industry on the Apple II.
AppleSoft BASIC book in BlindSpot – Turns out it’s this book (Cover photo).
Apple IIc Introduction to AppleSoft – Slightly more modern version of above book.
CFFA 3000 ordering – Get your name on this list so he will make more of them!
Halt & Catch Fire online – Watch on AMC’s website. Season 4 will be the end of it.

Don’t copy that floppy!

The post Open Apple #66 (December 2016) : Glenda “The Atom” Adams first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #65.5 (December 2016) : Mike Whalen At KansasFest

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 04:51:59 +0000

This week on Open Apple, we run a special piece of extra content, courtesy of friend-of-the-show Mike Whalen. Mike brought his mobile audio production gear to KansasFest back in July, and he captured a series of interviews and biographies during the event. He has graciously agreed to let us run it here on our feed. It’s wonderfully produced, and a great way to get a feel for what KansasFest is all about. If you’re on the fence about attending KFest in 2017, this will certainly sway you into joining us for all the Apple II fun.

The post Open Apple #65.5 (December 2016) : Mike Whalen At KansasFest first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #65 (November 2016) : Alex Lee, What Is The Apple IIgs?

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 06:22:46 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Alex Lee, purveyor of the canonical IIgs reference site What Is The Apple IIgs? We talk about what it was like being one of the brave few with this machine, and that feeling of living in a secret world of incredible graphics and sound that nobody else seemed to know about.

Alex walks us through the history of IIgs emulators, and all the ways that the IIgs Finder was actually better than the Mac. He also talks about the legal challenges of running an archive site like this, which luckily are not too serious for this obscure machine. We finish up with talk of the future of the site, and the difficulty of finding some really rare software packages- help contribute content!

Alex is also working on an Apple IIgs coffee table book. Help encourage him to finish it, because we all want to buy it very very badly. Just saying.

Keep listening, because you won’t want to miss Alex casually dropping the phrase “Late nineties and early naughties” in his charming Australian accent. Tune in as well to pine along with Quinn for the never-to-be Ultima VI.

Our apologies for this episode being a bit late. Combinations of illness, holiday commitments, and technical difficulties all conspired against us this month.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Apple II Scans – Mike’s repository of Apple II documentation and related media.
What Is The Apple IIgs? – Alex Lee’s wonderful site, including all the games we discuss.
Retro Hour with Lord British – An interview on how he loved the II a bit II much.
Simulating a Burroughs 220 on an Apple II – Michael Mahon expands his KFest showing.
Nox Archaist: Shattered Sword – Vignettes showing off their engine progress.
New editions – This and this are fresh from Call A.P.P.L.E.
ADTPro 2.0.2 – A new update to everyone’s favorite imager and bootstrapper.
System 6.0.3 bug – Antoine Vigneau identifies a big auxtype problem.
Huibert Aalbers – Recovered software, and the story behind it.
Brutal Deluxe tapes – Somehow they keep finding new Apple tapes.
New System Disk – John Brooks updates System Master with ProDOS 2.4.1.
DOS 3.1 – It has been compiled from source and reborn!
Apple Commander – Now living on Maven, great for cloud-assisted build pipelines.
VCF Zurich – It’s a thing that happens and happened.
Computer Pirate Shirt – The shirt that twitter hath wrought.
FinApple – A new Finnish site for our favorite fruits.
Hackaday 1kb challenge – An Apple II is a shoe-in to win this.
Veronica – Because can’t resist a chance to link to this.
Jimmy on Willy – Digital Antiquarian goes deep on Neuromancer and William Gibson.
UltimateApple2 now Facebook – The latest on IDEA2C and other projects.
Apple II manager interview – Computer History Museum sits down with a veteran.
Washington Apple Pi online – Most of their newsletters are now scanned.
Kickstarter for Woz – Help make a documentary about Woz’s music festivals.
Softalk V1N2 – Read along with us through the back catalog of this magazine.

The post Open Apple #65 (November 2016) : Alex Lee, What Is The Apple IIgs? first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #64 (October 2016) : John Brooks, Tiger Learning Computer, Softalk

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 02:16:10 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we share an excerpt of an interview with John Brooks, courtesy of Juiced.GS. John talks about how and why he updated ProDOS, and his experiences getting back into the community.

Tune in to hear Quinn lose 20 years of time perception around the Tiger Learning Computer, then pretend to know stuff about power supplies. Meanwhile, Mike waxes nostalgic about high school computer labs and tries to unload his excess Apple IIs on unsuspecting community members.

We try out a new segment this month, and we hope you like it! No spoilers- you’ll just have to listen and see what we’re up to.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Juiced.GS interview – Ken Gagne chats up John Brooks about ProDOS 2.4.
ProDOS 2.4 – The “official” home of John’s update.
Tiger Learning Computer – The educational toy with an Apple II under the hood.
Tanru Nomad – Brian Picchi’s Apple-II-centric YouTube channel.
Steve Jobs in images – Images of Steve Jobs. No, really.
A2Heaven’s Apple II VGA Scaler – Finally, a VGA solution for people with slots.
Bluetooth controller with Apple II theme – With a 9-pin dongle for Apple II use!
Quinn’s Apple II gamepad – Make your own modern style controller.
Dynacomp 240V dissection – Find out how that Aussie power supply works.
ReactiveMicro Docs – Henry Corbis shares all his reverse engineering.
The Goldbergs go deep – A fantastic Apple II classroom callback that gets it right.
Chris Zuhar’s Apple /// clone – Step 1: make a blog!
Retrochallenge 2016/10 – Happening now! Apple II projects expected to win.
Egan “Datajerk” Ford – Update to Apple II Disk Server!
Terry “Tezza” Stewart – The Kiwi with the cool videos.
Cider Press rewrite – Andrew Wells rewriting it in C#.
Apple II canned – A very unique tribute.
Vintage BBS List updated – For all your redialing pleasure.
Quinn’s digital archeology – Includes her sad attempt at a BBS.
Plamen needs a IIc Plus – Lend him one for awesome product development.
Rack mount portable IIgs – You probably can’t get one, but neat!
Ben Heck’s IIgs – The gold standard of IIgs portables.
That’s not all – Other IIgs portable efforts.
Softalk Vol 1, No 1 – Follow along as we dig through the classic magazines.

The post Open Apple #64 (October 2016) : John Brooks, Tiger Learning Computer, Softalk first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #63 (September 2016) : Kate Szkotnicki, ProDOS 2.4, KansasFest

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 03:05:34 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Kate Szkotnicki, long time Apple II fan and new addition to the retro community. We chat about her first impressions as a newcomer to the community, and the big splash she made at her first KansasFest. Kate is a cosplayer and frequent attendee of anime and comic cons, so she brought a very fresh set of skills and perspectives to KansasFest. Her presentation on making plastic parts (and candy!) with silicone moulding was very popular. Throw away your 3D printers- this is easier and better.

We also talk lots about John Brooks’ excellent work on updating ProDOS, Quinn says a bunch of stuff about Commodore that probably isn’t true, and Mike falls on his sword for getting everything wrong about Australian Apple II gatherings. Mike gets a record number of Apple /// references into this episode, so be sure to tune in and ignore that.

Breaking news! Between us recording and releasing this show, John Brooks has updated ProDOS to 2.4.1. Also, we worked out that the MegaBeep ROM is in fact compatible with it, contrary to the opening of the show. Listener James reported an issue that we believe was actually a bad ROM. If you are a MegaBeep owner, don’t hesitate to use it with any version of ProDOS, including John Brooks’ excellent new 2.4 updates.

Thanks to Brian Wiser of Call A.P.P.L.E. for permission to use the interview clip with Mike Harvey and John Leake.

Happy 30th birthday, Apple IIgs!

Kate on Cult of Mac – Kate’s shiny new GS makes an appearance as well.
Silicone Moulding and Resin Casting – Kate’s KansasFest presentation.
Kate’s Apple II dress from BaltiCon – More photos here and here!
Kate’s victory in the tie contest – A tough act to follow.
VCF West photos – Holding out for a H.E.R.O.
Cauzin SoftStrip – Reverse engineered, so… neat.
Inventor of Cauzin – A great interview over on ANTIC.
Halt & Catch Fire sets – Lots of cool 80s tech in the background.
Apple I auction – Rare example sold to people you won’t like.
ProDOS 2.4 – John Brooks updates the classic OS (2.4.1, now!)
Manila Gear IIgs VGA – Careful- may not be what you think.
ByteBoosters Transwarp enhancements – Juice up your juicer.
4Play Joystick card – You can now actually buy one.
VNCView GS updated – Remote desktop for your 16 bitter.
ADTPro to the rescue – Is there anything it can’t do?
Mike Harvey of Nibble – Interviewed by Call A.P.P.L.E.
Mike Harvey on RetroMacCast – Audio of the above interview. Thanks John & Brian!
Bejeweled update – Jeremy Rand’s HackFest entry, now with more features!
NuShrinkItX updated – Now swiftier.
WozFest, OzKFest, etc – Mike and Quinn get it all wrong again.
Patching DOS 3.3 – Yes, you can boot it on an external IIc drive.
Possible Apple /// clone – Or at least, a neat way to start a home-brew project.
Veronica – Quinn’s home-brew computer which inspired the Apple /// clone.
Steve Jobs quits & returns – Cult Of Mac says stuff about it.
Rev 0 Apple II – Market engineering at its finest.
WeeGUI – Quinn’s mouse text-based GUI library for Apple II.
Roland Gustafsson – The co-author of Gumball’s operating system and copy protection.
ReactiveMicro news – A new way to keep up to date on their progress.
Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design Enthusiasts – For fans of a great book
Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design – That would be this book.

The post Open Apple #63 (September 2016) : Kate Szkotnicki, ProDOS 2.4, KansasFest first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #62 (August 2016) : Mark Pilgrim, Passport, Ancient Legends

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 15:13:08 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Mark Pilgrim, one of the most active software preservationists in the Apple II community. Mark has been spending his free time working on Passport, an automated cracking tool. It automatically detects and defeats copy protection schemes on Apple II disks, producing copyable disks that are otherwise completely intact. This is a boon for preservation of software that has only been (poorly) cracked by hoodlums of the past, or is previously uncracked. The latter is very common with educational software, business packages, and other things that the old crackers weren’t interested in. Mark’s skills and perseverance are making it possible to use more and more Apple II software on sites like Archive.org and VirtualApple.

KansasFest 2017 will be July 18th-23rd at Rockhurst University!

Meanwhile, tune in to this show and listen to Quinn and Mike bumble through news of various festivals, discuss lots of new hardware, and utterly fail to be respectful of the passing of a computer science legend. We’re sorry, Mr. Papert- you will be missed, and Logo touched all our lives.

There are a record number of amazing announcements of hardware and software this month. You won’t want to miss Passport, Ancient Legends, 4soniq, CP/M Turbo 7, SD-MIDI, and more. It’s an incredible month for spending money on your Apple II.

Go download Passport and archive all your floppies. Start now, or you’ll be up very late.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Mike Willegal : Home of the Apple 1 Registry, among many other things.
Mark Pilgrim : Cracker, writer, preservationist extraordinaire.
Passport : Mark’s automated cracking and preservation tool.
Passport Intro : Mark’s amazing presentation at KansasFest 2016
MECC : The educational software consortium that is a target of Passport for preservation
Ship of Theseus: The most literary (and Quinn’s favorite) guest-uttered metaphor.
Passport workflow : A great sample of how to use this powerful utility.
GEnie and Delphi : Archived for all time.
KansasFest 2017 : Next year’s dates already announced. Book it now!
KansasFest 2016 : This year’s sessions and notes now online.
Cult of Mac does KFest : The mainstream is all up in our business again.
WOzFest $04 : It happened! Read more about it.
Apple II Festival France : It also happened!
VCF West : Guess what? It happened!
Space 4048 : A charming lo-res vertical shooter in production now.
Call A.P.P.L.E books : More reprints from ye olde user group.
Marina IP : Perhaps the final update to this remarkable piece of TCP/IP software.
GitHub Collation : A nice round-up of every Apple II project on github. Great reference!
Logo Inventor Passed Away : Seymour Papert’s pen has gone down for the final time.
Ancient Legends – Brand new, finished game by the Lawless Legends team. Yes, really.
Halt And Catch Fire Season 3 : It’s baaaaa-ack. Play spot-the-Commodore.
Inner Circle : Former member of a hacker group tells all. Again.
MIDI, VGA, RAM, oh my! : Plamen is at it again with great new hardware.
SD-MIDI : Ian Kim’s MIDI card.
CP/M Turbo 7 : Another marvel from Ian Kim, coming soon.
4Soniq : Manila Gear’s marvelous IIgs sound card now available.
Mugs and stuff : Retrobright guru Javier has made mugs and stuff.
French Touch : Playing music while loading from a floppy disk. Yes, really.
Kaboom! updated : Now supports 4-PLAY joystick card.
Nox Archaist contest : Winners of the tile art contest have been announced.
Woz-autographed Apple I : Up for auction. Get out your chequebooks.

Don’t forget to join our Patreon. If you like the show, help keep it going! Will podcast for gazzoline!

The post Open Apple #62 (August 2016) : Mark Pilgrim, Passport, Ancient Legends first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #61 (July 2016) : KansasFest 2016, Chicken Missile Megapodcast

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 00:55:39 +0000

This month on Open Apple, as is tradition, we present the megapodcast recorded live at KansasFest. Most of your favorite retrocomputing podcasters attend KansasFest each year, and we all get together in a basement room to record a giant group podcast. This year’s recording includes, in no particular order:

Quinn Dunki of Open Apple
Paul Hagstrom of Retrocomputing Roundtable and Drop /// Inches
Michael Mulhern and Carrington Vanston of Retrocomputing Roundtable
Kay Savetz of Antic
Rob McMullen of Player/Missile
Ken Gagne of Polygamer and Indiesider
John Leake of RetroMacCast
Todd George of Chicken Lips Radio
Charles Mangin of How II
Jeff Salzman of The History Of Personal Computing

In this megapodcast, we talk about our experiences at this year’s KFest, and play a form of Liar’s Dice with each other’s personal computing histories.

A note on audio quality- it’s difficult to get 11 people recorded simultaneously in a room without a lot of fancy equipment that we can’t carry on airplanes, so we hope you’ll bear with us. We have a ton of fun recording these as a group, and we hope you enjoy listening to it. Many many thanks to Paul Hagstrom for doing the editing on this one!

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Open Apple #60 (June 2016) : Sean Fahey, KansasFest 2016 Warmup

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:23:43 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Sean Fahey of A2Central, major league collector, and member of the KansasFest Committee. It’s not too late to register! Go to kansasfest.org right now. If you listen to this show, you should definitely be there. The Garage Giveaway will be larger than ever this year. You won’t want to miss the amazing pile of free Apple II gear. The other classic traditions keep getting better as well- the cookout will be catered, and the prizes for the various contests are amazing this year. All the great Apple II community vendors have stepped up with a lot of hardware, tools, and software to give away.

KansasFest 2016 runs July 19th – July 24th at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO. The keynote speaker this year is Mike Harvey, best known in the Apple II community as the editor of Nibble magazine. He has some great stories about the business and culture of the early computing era.

We don’t just talk about KansasFest this month. We dive a bit deeper into the murky world of Apple II clones. Also marvel as Mike pretends to know nothing about KansasFest, and roll your eyes as Quinn continues to beat a dead horse joke about the eBay segment. Fear not, however, because the world is a better now that we all know the Lode Runner board game exists.

Z0DWARE WHERE ARE YOU?!

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

KansasFest 2016 : Run, don’t walk to the registration page.
KansasFest 2015 photos : Jason Scott’s great shots from last year.
Staff C1 clone : Nice photos of a lesser-known Apple II clone.
Chrome emulator : Run an Apple II as a Chrome extension, because you can.
Lode Runner Board Game : Quinn really really wanted this, but hesitated too long.
Kerbal Space Program : Yes, someone really seems to have written a version for the II.
DB-19s Live Again : Intrepid Steve Chamberlin now has ALL THE DB-19s!!!!!
4am & qkumba crushing it : The odyssey of Gumball and the multi-game easter egg.
RamWorks III kit : UltimateMicro now lets you roll your own. Less juice, more memory.
Apple I on eBay : The bubble seems to have burst.
Clones on eBay :
Personal Software Zork : The rare pre-Infocom edition.
Exatron Stringy Floppy : A bit of Sinclair madness for your Apple II.
Nox Archaist contest – Make tiles and win prizes for this new RPG.
Genius – Daniele Liverani’s new Apple II game is now available.
A2Central – The #1 Apple II news source!

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Open Apple #59 (May 2016) : Amy Kefauver, Lorri Hopping, Stuff4YourGS

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 05:30:28 +0000

This month on Open Apple, Kay Savetz sits down with Amy Kefauver and Lorri Hopping. Amy was the editor of Scholastic Microzine, an educational magazine focused on the Apple II. Lorri was a writer and editor for Microzine. They share many great memories creating lessons with computers, the nature of the educational market, and how computers can engage kids in ways that static media can’t.

After those interviews (thanks Kevin!), Mike and Quinn talk ear worm game introductions, crappy early advertising, and hardware with Bumper Stumper product names. It wouldn’t be a show if they didn’t mention UltimateMicro and Brutal Deluxe, so they make sure to do that too.

Bathe in the glory of 1980s video game box art, enjoy mobile versions of KansasFest memories, and roll your eyes at teenage boy whimsy.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

ANTIC : The Atari 8-bit interview show that is sometimes a podcast.
Doug Carlston : A great interview by friend-of-the-show Chris Torrence.
4Play Joystick card : An awesome new way to multiplay on your GS.
4Soniq quadrophonic sound card : Unlock all the sound channels on your Ensoniq.
WoZFest III : Great demos of Kaboom support for both of the above!
VCF East Hackathon on Apple IIs : Live programming competition done right.
1980s game box art : Let’s be honest- it’s all about Sirius.
UltimateMicro Universal Power Supply : The design is finalized! Get yours now.
Apple II Festival France : Party with your Apple II, like all classy and stuff.
Early Games Influencing Internet : The Apple II echoes and echoes and echoes.
France United Cracker’s Klan tribute : Teenage boys behaving badly.
Structris for iOS released : Play the KansasFest classic on your iPhone.
UltimateMicro Scalable Oscillator v2.0 : A new version of the nifty accelerator hack.
Dino Eggs: Rebirth : Available now on Steam. Go get it!

Oh, and here’s a link. You’re welcome.

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Open Apple #58 (April 2016) : Huibert Aalbers, IIGS Stuff, Taiwanese Ham

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Wed, 04 May 2016 05:10:33 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with Huibert Aalbers, author of Soundsmith. It’s hard to overstate what a platform-defining piece of software this was for the Apple IIgs. Few people appreciated what the audio system in this computer was capable of, until Huibert unlocked it for the world to hear. Games and scene demos would use his tool for the entire life of the machine. Other music trackers came along in later years, but Soundsmith was always there. It turns out platform jealousy can be a powerful force indeed.

Meanwhile, we talk oranges, Taiwanese ham, dying young, and cramming IIc parts in your Franklin. We blow the lid off the French pirate sneakernet and complain about kids today and their disrespect for bytes.

After that, Mike finds beta ROMs, Quinn loses her sense of humor, and they both find GS RAM cards everywhere. It’s a IIgs themed episode- all the Ensoniqs and FTAs you can stand. If you’re an Atari user*, see if you can spot the backhanded compliment.

You won’t want to miss Huibert’s amazing project involving IIgs Epluché!

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Getting rid of collections : Because you can’t take it with you.
Disposal on RCR : Those jerks scooped us by a year. How do they do it?
Huibert Aalbers : Where is he now?
Freeware : All of Huibert’s work is now up grabs.
Mockingboard 4C : Ian Kim is at it again! For sale here!
Lawless Legends : This game just keeps getting better and better looking.
AIPC : A new Apple IIe emulator to take for a spin.
Historically Brewed (pdf warning) : David Greelish re-releases the newsletter in PDF form.
Computer Museum of America : Mr. Greelish will be busy.
Franklin ACE transplant : A creative solution to an ailing power supply.
Adult Oregon Trail : Don’t worry, it’s not what it sounds like.
IIc Plus Slowdown : Hack-a-day picks up Quinn’s project.
4am goes viral : One of the posts that started it all.
3.5 Drive Controller : The latest sweet sweet clone from UltimateMicro.
Apple blew it : The IIgs tragedy, nicely laid out.
Gold box games : Jimmy Maher goes deep on Pool of Radiance.
VCF Reorganizes : VCFSE is on!
A2Heaven ROM adapter : Upgrade your IIgs ROM!
UltimateMicro ROM adapter : Upgrade your IIgs ROM again!
ByteBoosters RAM : Because you can never have too many IIgs RAM cards.
Nox Archaist : A new RPG in the spirit of Ultima, coming soon.
Mark Pilgrim’s Pravetz : Come to KFest to see the very rare (in the US) clone.
Choplifter Visualized : Because it’s such a nice looking game.
Woz is everywhere : Including here, here, and here!

*our condolences

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Open Apple #57 (March 2016) : Bill Budge!

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 23:02:22 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we sit down with legendary Apple II programmer, Bill Budge. In addition to being an icon of Apple II gaming and graphics, he is the number-one-requested guest by listeners of the show. Mike and Quinn are very excited he was able to make some time to talk to them, and hope you agree it was worth the effort. Bill is, of course, the author of such seminal classics as Raster Blaster, Pinball Construction Set, and MousePaint. He was an influential force in the golden years of Electronic Arts, and did many good works with early Apple as well.

After chatting with Bill, Mike and Quinn chew the fat about Soviet Apple II clones, slowing down the IIc Plus, and documenting rare II models. Meanwhile, Quinn constructs an impromptu sound studio in a conference room, and Mike waxes nostalgic about harpsichords. Also, this episode marks the most Apple III references snuck in to date. Mike even manages to goad the guest into bringing it up. Don’t miss Quinn struggling to remember the word “Dacta”, and Mike taking a cheap shot at Elevator Action.

A quick update to Quinn’s Floppy Emu Model B review- since this was recorded, Steve has updated the firmware so it now remembers the last disk image you used.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Bill Budge!
Penny Arcade – Bill’s first game.
Tranquility Base – Refinement of Bill’s line rendering and physics techniques.
3-D Game Tool – A demo (we believe) of Bill’s 3-D Game Tool in action.
Raster Blaster – Bill moves from vector rendering into bitmaps.
Computer Chronicles – Bill’s appearance on national television.
Ultima V – A comprehensive history by Jimmy Maher.
Britannia Manor – A video tour of Richard Garriott’s house.
Floppy Emu – Quinn reviews one of the newest solid state options.
Mike’s Rev 0 – Mike begins documenting his rare beast.
No boot for you – Video of Mike’s ailing machine at KansasFest.
Communist clones – The Apple II was a popular clone target in the Eastern Bloc.
Circuit Cellar interview – #ThrowbackThursday
Cracking senses – Do you know what copy protection sounds like?
Inside Technic Control Center – Lego’s first interface to an Apple computer.
The Dacta box in action – Courtesy of Alex Lukazi.
Usborne programming books – The beloved kids’ books are now free to download.
Woz expresses fatigue – He’ll still sign your crap, but don’t push it.
Miner – The prototype that will make you really really appreciate Lode Runner.
Slowing down the IIc Plus – Quinn makes a nicer default for clock speed.
Patreon – Help keep Open Apple on the air!

The post Open Apple #57 (March 2016) : Bill Budge! first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #56 (February 2016) : Peter Lount, Gemstone Warrior, KansasFest

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 05:05:37 +0000

This month on Open Apple we sit down with Peter Lount, co-developer of Gemstone Warrior and Gemstone Healer for the Apple II. Canadian programmer Peter and his partner Trouba broke new ground in video games by combining fast action combat with procedurally generated caves and dungeon content. Gemstone Warrior doesn’t get credit for being the predecessor to Blizzard megahit Diablo, but it should. Peter talks about tuning his rendering engine, including rewriting huge chunks of it overnight to meet a deadline. What’s your reality resolution?

Tune in to hear Mike complain that Gemstone’s monsters are too smart for him, and hear Quinn choke on the most important Apple II announcement of the year. We talk a lot about solid state drives, marvel at underground ‘zines, and bask in the awesome glory of Brutal Deluxe’s tape collection. Audio is still the “best” way to move data after all these years. “A bold statement,” you say? “Nonsense,” you cry? Listen and decide.

Meanwhile, Ultimate Micro continues to kick butt by reverse engineering all that sweet Applied Engineering hardware, Quinn makes terrible “card” jokes, and we catch up on lots of feedback.

Breaking the fourth wall on segment bumpers- good idea, or great idea?

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Computer History Museum – Well worth the visit, but strange gaps in the collection.
Quinn goes viral – Here’s the post that started it all.
Tech Crunch synopsis – They’ve corrected some details since it was first posted, at least.
Gemstone Warrior – Play it here online, courtesy of Call-A.P.P.L.E.
Visual 6502 – See our favorite chip run live.
Gemstone Synthesizer – The game played through a Roland synthesizer.
KansasFest registration – run, don’t walk! Your chance to hang with your Apple II pals.
LCD for your IIgs – an older solution, but still viable.
Floppy Days – Randy Kindig discusses TI-99/4A upgrades. Trust us, it’s relevant.
F18a for Apple II – An awesome graphics subsystem you can add to your II.
I’m fEDD Up – Version 2, now with 800k support.
Crazy Cycles 2 – Just when you think French Touch can’t do more with video modes.
Floppy Emu model B – A slick new solid state storage option from Big Mess of Wires.
Old Tech New Tech – A new ‘zine from a former Beagle Brother.
PoC||GTFO – Apple II copy protection overview in an underground ‘zine.
Marina for Uthernet II – The newest ethernet option now supported by Marina TCP/IP.
Brutal Deluxe tapes – Even more tapes added to their huge collection of early software.
RamWorks III schematics – Ultimate Micro continues to give back to the community.
Joe’s Computer Museum – A nice place to hang your hat.
Sprite Castle – A great show about the Commodore 64, if you’re in to that for some reason.
How II – Charles Mangin’s Apple II video cast.
Chris Torrence – Another great Apple II show.

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Open Apple #55 (January 2016) : Henry Courbis, UltimateMicro, ProDOS conversions

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 22:36:04 +0000

This month on Open Apple we sit down with Henry Courbis, co-proprietor of Ultimate Micro, serial entrepreneur, and Open Source guy. Henry is boldly going where no hobbyist has gone before, by making Apple II hardware his real day job. If anyone can do it, Ultimate Micro can!

We talk massive modem phone bills, phreaking, warez, and statutes of limitations. You know… for a friend. Henry talks about how hardware first appealed to him, and how he has leveraged his hacking and resourcefulness into development of powerful & complex modern products. Henry is a nexus of collaboration in the Apple II hardware community, and helping to make a lot of things happen. Henry makes cloning the Transwarp GS sound easy, and goes into lots of detail on exciting upcoming UltimateMicro products.

Listen in amazement as Quinn is unable to realize that “qkumba” is a play on “cucumber”. Listen to Mike badger Henry for a Phasor clone, and listen to Quinn’s not-so-subtle attempt to be a beta tester for the IDEA2c. We’ve got emulators, we’ve got hardware vendors, we’ve got crackers, and we’ve got phony museums about to get sued into oblivion. Come on down!

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

Raspberry Pi IIb – The perfect platform for A2Server (which has just been updated!).
Digital Archeology – Quinn rescues her old floppy collection.
Ultimate Micro – Possibly the hottest new Apple II hardware maker.
UM on Facebook – Keep up with the very latest news from Henry and Anthony.
Philosophy Of Sound – Tom Arnold, who developed UM’s Mockingboard clone.
Dagen Brock – Frequent Apple II contributor and UM collaborator.
Geoff Body – Early collaborator on the legendary Transwarp GS cloning.
GGLabs – Maker of awesome retrocomputing products of all sorts.
Nishida Radio – Everyone’s favorite Apple II hardware maker.
A2Heaven – Plamen of Bulgaria, everyone’s other favorite Apple II hardware maker.
John Morris – Collaborating on new UM power supplies.
UNISDISK Air – Nishida Radio’s wireless floppy emulator.
Joe’s Computer Museum – Soon to be reviewing UM products.
Apple II Online Registry – Show off your serial number. You know you want to.
AppleFritter – A popular hangout for hardcore II fans.
ANTIC Interview #45 – Yep, we listen. Boo Atari. But you should listen too. Good show.
ANTIC Interview #96, Bill Mensch – We’ll just leave this here.
Raster Bars – French Touch continues to impress.
FTA Xmas demo – In case you don’t know it. You should. It crushes.
Berlin GeekFest – Apple II legends feature heavily. A great listen!
Apple II Plus Simulator updated – You may not know this one, but give it a try.
Virtual II – The official(?) favorite emulator of the Open Apple team.
Apple Time Warp podcast episode 2 – You thought it was gone, didn’t you? We all did.
Apple 2ix – Android (and theoretically cross-platform) emulator updated.
cAndy Apple – An older Android emulator, still worth checking out.
PeerSoft updated – Neat BASIC extender, now version 1.5.6.
SQUIRT – New file selector to play with. Oh, Canada!
qkumba porting DOS 3.3 games to ProDOS – Crackers have all kinds of tricks.
Antoine == 4am GS – Preservation of GS games is underway with a vengeance!
InitPack updated – Yes, AppleWorks plugin development continues!
Alan Bird interviewed on UnoCero – Scroll past the messed-up layout (Google Translated)
David Schroeder’s blogging reposted – Venture Beat getting in on the retro action.
Apple “Museum” in Prague plays with fire – Cease & Desist in 3..2..1…
Apple “Museum” website – See it before the lawyers burn it down.
Dan Bricklin interviewed – VisiCalc still getting the love.
The Guardian follows suit – More VisiCalc.
Apple IIc Prototype on eBay – Seems legit?
Option 8 charity auction – RetroConnector doing good for the community.
Basis 108 Clone – Thanks Randy!

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Open Apple #54 (December 2015) : Year End Roundtable!

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 04:40:42 +0000

This month on Open Apple, we round out the year with our annual tradition of sitting around a virtual table with some friends of the show, discussing whatever comes to mind. Mike and Quinn are joined by Randy Brandt of Beagle Bros fame, Charles Mangin of RetroConnector, and some guy named Carrington Vanston.

We talk about connecting old things to other old things, connecting old things to new things, and how to pluralize German surnames. Mike manages to make several Apple III references, Carrington imagines nonexistent 8-bit games, and The Third Apple Guy is discussed at some point. It’s a deep, intellectual examination of all things Apple II. Stay tuned to hear why Quinn’s mom hoards peoples’ IIGSes for some reason. You won’t want to miss a moment. Also, Quinn makes a 65C02 joke that nobody laughs at. You’ll know why.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

RetroConnector – Charles Mangin’s store.
The New Apple II User’s Guide – A great way to get (re)started in the Apple II world.
The Asimov Games – Internet Archive’s snapshot of game disk images.
Apple II Game Server – A way to stream games into your Apple’s memory right from the internet on any modern mobile or desktop device.
ADTPro – The best way to get started with real floppies on newly-acquired hardware.
SDFloppy II – One of the easiest to get floppy emulators.
CFFA 3000 – Goes in all your slots.
A2Heaven – The mad genius Bulgarian’s new store.
Quinn’s Apple II ROM Dumper – Shameless plug because it was mentioned. By Quinn.
KansasFest – It’s not our show notes if we don’t link to this.
Bard’s Tale Remastered – Rebecca Heineman’s upcoming project.
Digital Antiquarian – We’ll take any excuse to link to Jimmy’s amazing blog.
Trizbort – A mapping tool if you’re allergic to ink.
Opus II – All the ByteWorks software now available from Juiced.GS.

The post Open Apple #54 (December 2015) : Year End Roundtable! first appeared on Open Apple.

Open Apple #53 (November 2015) : David Schroeder, Phreaking, 8-bit Mice

podcast@open-apple.net (Mike Maginnis & Quinn Dunki) — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 03:51:05 +0000

This month on Open Apple we sit down with David Schroeder, author of classic Apple II games such as Crisis Mountain, Dino Eggs, and Short Circuit. We talk about the randomness of our passionate brand-loyalty, the logistical realities of early Apple II development, and the magical era of “one-person, one-game”. We get into a lot of the technical details of Crisis Mountain and Dino Eggs, so you might pick up some tips for your own Apple II projects! David also has great memories of the economic and design realities of the time, where everyone was scrambling to figure out what a computer game was, and what players really wanted. Game developers are still fighting that battle, but at least we have a definition of “video game” now.

We’re sharing David’s games in the show notes below, with his permission! In exchange, he asks that you patronize, share and support Dino Eggs: Rebirth.

After that we jam through some quick news, bask in the fallout (see what I did there?) of the GEOS episode, and we get down and dirty with rodents. Do you have the GS with the bigger Em Bees? Trust us, you want the bigger Em Bees.

You might notice that we’re continuing to tighten up the show. Let us know how you feel about this trend in our show length! Do you like the shorter episodes? Miss the epic three hour monsters? Email us at feedback (at) open-apple (dot) net. We have social media too, but we can never remember which ones.

More information on everything discussed in this episode, after the jump.

David H. Schroeder – His personal site, including info on Dino Eggs: Rebirth.
Dino Eggs: Rebirth – A modern take on the classic- vote for it on Steam Greenlight!
Gamasutra Blog – David’s series of articles on his development of all these games.
Crisis Mountain – Play it yourself!
Dino Eggs – Definitely play it yourself!
Short Circuit – Shut up and go play this right the hell now!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Family Christmas Games – A lesser-known work of David’s- a fave of his!
Happy Birthday To You – Reference to David’s SoftDisk birthday game. We weren’t able to find an actual copy of this, but if anyone knows the SoftDisk issue this was in, let us know.
Fallout 84 – Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Much like Fallout itself, an alternate history.
Phreaking Mini-doc – A look back at Woz’s Blue Boxes, on ESPN for some reason.
Ultimate Micro 8MB Cards – So many megabytes! All the megabytes!
Review of UM’s Card – Dagen Brock gives us a (very) quick tour.
Call A.P.P.L.E. Magazine is back! – They never really left.
Juiced.GS – Reigns supreme as the longest continuously published Apple II Magazine.
Mouse Programming – A talk Quinn gave at KFest about mouse differences and such.

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