
Advertise on podcast: Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast
Rating
4.8from
This podcast has
171 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Randy KindigExplicit
No
Date created
2013/02/17
Latest episode
2026/09/28
Average duration
77 min.
Release period
31 days
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Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast
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Floppy Days 167 - Interview with Peter Jennings, Microchess and VisiCorp
2026/09/28
Interview with Peter Jennings, Microchess & VisiCorp
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics - https://www.8bitclassics.com/?ref=Floppydays
Arcade Shopper - https://www.arcadeshopper.com/
FutureVision Research - https://www.fvresearch.com/
Tuc's Workbench - https://shop.tucs-workbench.com/
Hello, and welcome to episode #167 of the Floppy Days Podcast, where you can learn about obsolete, but still very fun, technology of the past!
In this episode we talk with someone that was right there in the early days of computers and who created some amazing software for the very early, very primitive KIM-1 computer. In fact, he is credited with producing the very first microcomputer game to be sold commercially. I'm speaking of Peter Jennings, the creator of MicroChess for the KIM-1 and later ported to many other early home computers, such as the TRS-80 Model I/III, Commodore PET, Apple II, Tandy CoCo, and Atari 8-bit.
Peter co-founded Personal Software, which later became VisiCorp. Proceeds from MicroChess sales helped finance the development of VisiCalc, the first-ever spreadsheet program, which I'm sure you've heard of.
Peter also developed the first model of the ChessMate while working for Commodore.
I think you'll find his story pretty interesting. He's done a lot throughout his career and he's met a lot of the early computer icons.
Interview Links
Peter's Website - https://benlo.com
VisiCorp at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisiCorp
Peter at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_R._Jennings
Microchess at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchess
Brad Templeton - https://www.templetons.com/brad/
The Commodore ChessMate - https://commodore.international/2022/03/26/the-history-of-the-commodore-chessmate/
The Pocket Guide to World History - https://pockethistory.com/
Floppy Days 166 - Interview with David Pogue, Tech Journalist and Author
2026/08/29
Interview with David Pogue, Tech Journalist and Author
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics - https://www.8bitclassics.com/?ref=Floppydays
Arcade Shopper - https://www.arcadeshopper.com/
FutureVision Research - https://www.fvresearch.com/
Tuc's Workbench - https://shop.tucs-workbench.com/
Hello and welcome to Floppy Days #166 for August, 2026. My name is Randy Kindig and I'm your host for this glimpse of what life was like in the 70's and 80's with home computers.
This episode is an interview-only show with a guest that I'm betting most of you have heard of and have admired his contributions to mainstream technology learning.
David Pogue is a seven-time Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning. He's also a New York Times bestselling author; he has written or co-written more than 120 books. He's also a five-time TED speaker and host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS. He was The New York Times weekly tech columnist. He recently released his latest book that is getting rave reviews: "Apple: The First 50 Years."
I must admit some early trepidation in speaking with David for the podcast. Not because of any qualms about David himself; David is actually a terrific guy and that was obvious from his mountainous and amazing set of work. It was more of some intimidation based on his many appearances on TV and the large number of interviews HE personally has done over the years. However, as the interview progressed, David made me feel completely at ease and I'm honored to have been able to talk with him 1-on-1.
I think you'll enjoy hearing about his career, his many stories, his musical parodies, and details about his latest book about the first 50 years of Apple.
This interview took place June 25, 2026.
Upcoming Shows
ABBUC Summer Camp - August 26-30 - Winterberg-Elkeringhausen, Germany - https://abbuc.de/summercamp
Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/
Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 - Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/
Tandy Assembly 2026 - October 2-4, 2026 - Cincinnati, Ohio - https://www.tandyassembly.com/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/
Chicago TI International World Faire - October 24 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home
VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pogue
https://davidpogue.com/
Apple: The First 50 Years - https://amzn.to/3QiMpHr
substack blog - https://pogueman.substack.com/
"Clap Along" - Pogue's parody song for Apple's 50th - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyXbvtnhOIk
"I Write the Code" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWgMAMiiahY
"I Got an iPhone" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniMR6Ez9cE&list=RDvniMR6Ez9cE&start_radio=1
Floppy Days 165 - The Sphere, Part 2, with Ben Zotto
2026/07/31
Floppy Days 165 - The Sphere Computer, Part 2 with Ben Zotto
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics - https://www.8bitclassics.com/?ref=Floppydays
Arcade Shopper - https://www.arcadeshopper.com and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research - https://www.fvresearch.com/
Tuc's Workbench - https://shop.tucs-workbench.com
Hello and welcome to episode 165 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for July, 2026. My name is Randy Kindig and I'm your host for this audio and video tribute to vintage computers and computer history.
For those of you listening to these podcasts in order, this month's episode is the second part of the 2-part series on the Sphere, which was introduced in 1975; the same year as the Altair and even before the Apple 1.
Once again, I want to reiterate what the Sphere was and why do we care? The Sphere was the first "personal computer," defined as such by Byte Magazine due to its consumer focus and built-in keyboard and monitor. Many computers can claim the moniker of first "personal computer", and rightly so, but this one has the endorsement of an early, well-respected, long-running computer magazine and they have good reason for feeling this way about the Sphere. Once you hear the details, you'll see just how ground-breaking this machine was at a very early period of computer history.
Not only that, some of the personal stories behind the machine are simply downright fascinating.
Ben Zotto is the undisputed expert on the Sphere in these times, after finding an abandoned machine sitting on the sidewalk and deciding to adopt it and learn more about it. He recently wrote a comprehensive book on the Sphere called "Go Computer Now!" that Ben and I spent a lot of time talking about in the last episode -- which again was the first episode on the Sphere. This episode series actually serves two purposes: first as an interview with Ben to learn more about him and his book, and secondly as an overview of a computer I didn't cover back when I started this podcast back in 2013 with the Altair 8800 and the Apple 1.
So, as I said earlier, this will be the second part of a 2-part journey on the Sphere. Last month we talked in great detail with Ben Zotto about how he ended up going down the Sphere rabbit hole and all the great things he's done to promote an important machine that was forgotten in the annals of history. This month, Ben and I go through all the usual topics about the Sphere: history, tech specs, using the machine, current Web sites and a great deal more.
I really hope you enjoy hearing more about the Sphere and all the things that Ben has done to fill in the gap in history that used to be occupied by the Sphere!
Vintage Computer Shows
Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se
Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/
VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-west/
Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/
ABBUC Summer Camp - August 26-30 - Winterberg-Elkeringhausen, Germany - https://abbuc.de/summercamp
Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/
Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 - Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/
Tandy Assembly 2026 - October 2-4, 2026 - Cincinnati, Ohio - https://www.tandyassembly.com/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/
Chicago TI International World Faire - October 24 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home
VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Tech Specs
BASIC - https://sphere.computer/news/2026-03-28-the-secret-minicomputer-inside-your-sphere.html
Using the Machine/Tips
https://sphere.computer/articles/sphere-bringup-guide.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOKQoWlpGk
Popular Magazines/Newsletters
Byte Magazine - https://archive.org/details/1982-10-byte-magazine-october-1-byte-magazine-21533/1975%2009%20BYTE%2000-01%20The%20Worlds%20-%20Byte%20Magazine_21693/
Sphere Global News newsletter; put out by Sphere Corp. - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_spherenews_1063041
Sphere Microcomputer Users' Newsletter - August 1977 - letter from Programma - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_spherenews7_5204616
Books
Stan Veit's book - https://archive.org/details/stan-veits-history-of-the-personal-computer
Stan Veit Podcast:
https://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLUOGYbuIdClP9KoaDfHXqLvqOeaqTATQK
Fire in the Valley - https://www.amazon.com/Fire-in-Valley-audiobook/dp/B071YYZJG5
Bill Gates' memoir "Source Code: My Beginnings" - https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Source-Code-My-Beginnings/dp/B0D5KHFN6C
Digital Deli - https://archive.org/details/digitaldelicompr0000unse
Ben's book - https://gocomputernow.com/
Software
Games & Cassettes! on the 1975 Sphere computer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AISsrGfb9n0
Ads
"Why not go computer now?" - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sphere_Personal_Computer_Ad_January_1976.jpg
Modern Upgrades
https://sphere.computer/shop.html
Emulation
https://sphere.computer/emulator/
Community
Forums
AtariAge - https://www.atariage.com
VCFEd - https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php
Current Web Sites and Videos
Very old SPHERE computer doing very silly tricks, for SPHERETEMBER!!! - Ben Zotto - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHALstVxdPI
Sphere repository at bitsavers.org - https://bitsavers.org/pdf/sphere/
Home repository for the Sphere-1 reconstruction by Andrew Shapton - https://github.com/Sphere-Corporation
https://hackaday.com/2023/03/11/a-love-letter-to-the-sphere-computer/
VCF West: Sphere 1: The First Modern Microcomputer — Ben Zotto - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GilFixu4KY
References
Ben's site - https://sphere.computer/
Ben's book "Go Computer Now!!!" - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_1
Floppy Days 164 - The Sphere, Part 1 with Ben Zotto
2026/06/29
Floppy Days 164 - The Sphere, Part 1 with Ben Zotto
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
Hello!!! and welcome to episode 164 of the Floppy Days Podcast, for June, 2026. My name is Randy Kindig and I'm your host for this joy ride through the rewarding hobby of vintage computers and computer history.
I have to start off by apologizing, as I'll actually be stepping back in the computer timeline for this episode. Sometimes it happens. My goal from the beginning of this podcast was to go through computers in the approximate order they were released (at least by year). And, I've largely done that with this podcast. However, sometimes a machine comes up that I didn't know about or didn't recognize its importance at the time I put together the list of computers to cover. This month that computer is the Sphere, which was introduced in 1975. That's right, I said 1975. That was the same year as the Altair and even before the Apple 1.
What was the Sphere and why do we care? The Sphere was the first "personal computer," defined as such by Byte Magazine due to its consumer focus and built-in keyboard and monitor. Now, I know that many computers can claim the moniker of first "personal computer", and rightly so, but this one has the endorsement of an early, well-respected, long-running computer magazine and they have good reason for feeling this way about the Sphere. Once you hear the details, you'll see just how ground-breaking this machine was at a very early period of computer history.
Not only that, some of the personal stories behind the machine are simply downright fascinating.
Ben Zotto is the undisputed expert on the Sphere in these times, after finding an abandoned machine sitting on the sidewalk and deciding to adopt it and learn more about it. He recently wrote a comprehensive book on the Sphere called "Go Computer Now!" that I mentioned the last episode I had acquired. Well, I ended up reading that book cover-to-cover and really enjoying it. So much so that I decided to contact Ben and see if he would be willing to come onto the podcast to talk about his book and the Sphere Computer. Thankfully, he was. This podcast actually serves two purposes: first as an interview with Ben to learn more about him and his book, and secondly as an overview of a computer I didn't cover back when I started this podcast back in 2013 with the Altair 8800 and the Apple 1.
So, this will be a 2-part journey on the Sphere. This month we talk in great detail with Ben Zotto about how he ended up going down the Sphere rabbit hole and all the great things he's done to promote an important machine that was forgotten in the annals of history. Next month, Ben and I go through all the usual topics about the Sphere: history, tech specs, using the machine, current Web sites and a great deal more.
I really hope you enjoy hearing about the Sphere and meeting Ben Zotto!
New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To/News
VCFSW - https://www.vcfsw.org
REU Grande - https://www.go4retro.com
National Videogame Museum (NVM) - https://nvmusa.org/)
article/cover for May, 2026 Call-A.P.P.L.E. Magazine with Floppy Days Woz interview - https://www.callapple.org/
passing of Howell Ivy:
audio interview from 2022 - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-114-howell-ivy-exidy-sorcerer-and-exidy
video interview from 2022 - https://youtu.be/QojU9ty4q_U
audio interview for Byte Shop 50th - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-161-byte-shop-interviews
video interview for Byte Shop 50th - https://youtu.be/QlmkvVSuNbs
Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows
KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield (in person) - July 31-Aug. 1 (virtual) - https://www.kansasfest.org/
Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se
Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/
Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/
Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026
Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - September 11-13 - Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/
Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - September 12-13 - Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - https://vcfmw.org/
Tandy Assembly 2026 - October 2-4, 2026 - Cincinnati, Ohio - https://www.tandyassembly.com/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 9-11 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/
Chicago TI International World Faire - October 24 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home
VCF Montreal - November 7-8 - Champlain College Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lambert, QC - https://cvcfed.org/vcf-montreal-2-0/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
Ben's site - https://sphere.computer/
Ben's book "Go Computer Now!!!" - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_1
Floppy Days 163 - Interview with Charles Pfister, Apple 1 Case Designer
2026/05/26
Floppy Days 163 - Interview with Charles Pfister, Apple 1 Case Designer
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
New Acquisitions
Chalkboard PowerPad - https://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n10/52_The_legend_of_the_pad_of_.php
"Go Computer Now!!!" by Ben Zotto - https://shop.gocomputernow.com/products/go-computer-now
"Apple The First 50 Years" by David Pogue - https://amzn.to/4f6XJjU (sponsored link)
FujiNet RS-232 - https://www.fvresearch.com/product/fujinet-rs232/
Upcoming Shows (thru AUGUST, 2026)
VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/
Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/
CORGSCON - Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society - June 6-7 - Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/
INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/
Chilliwack & Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html
Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield (in person) - July 31-Aug. 1 (virtual) - https://www.kansasfest.org/
Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se
Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/
Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - August 7-9, 2026 - Cradle of Aviation, Garden City, NY - https://liretro.com/
Fujiama - August 26-30 - Lengenfeld, Germany - http://atarixle.ddns.net/fuji/2026
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
EDI Insights (YouTube) - https://www.youtube.com/@EliteoneDesigns
Elite Designs (Facebook) - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046369452863
Computer History Museum - https://computerhistory.org/
Floppy Days 162 - Interview with Steve Wozniak, Apple Legend
2026/04/29
Floppy Days 162 - Interview with Apple Legend, Steve Wozniak
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
New Acquisitions
The WOZPAK Special Edition: Steve Wozniak's Apple-1 & Apple II Computers - https://www.callapple.org/documentation/books/a-p-p-l-e-announces-the-wozpak-special-edition/
Assembly Lines: The Complete Book by Roger Wagner (Author), Chris Torrence (Editor) - https://amzn.to/4eU23ma (sponsored link)
What's Where in the Apple – Enhanced Edition: A Complete Guide to the Apple II Computer - https://www.callapple.org/call-apple/callapple-production/whats-where-in-the-apple-enhanced-edition-released-by-a-p-p-l-e/
Upcoming Computer Shows (thru July, 2026)
VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/
Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org
VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/
Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/
CORGSCON - Columbus Ohio Retro Gaming Society - June 6-7 - Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH - https://www.corgscon.com/
INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/
Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - June 19-21 - Leigh, Wigan, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/
Chilliwack & Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html
Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
KansasFest 2026 - July 14-19 - University of Illinois Springfield - https://www.kansasfest.org/
Silly Venture SE (Summer Edition) - July 30-Aug. 2 - Gdansk, Poland - https://www.demoparty.net/silly-venture/silly-venture-2026-se
Southern Fried Gaming Expo and VCF Southeast - July 31-Aug 2, 2026 - Atlanta, GA - https://gameatl.com/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
video file created for Byte Shop 50th Anniversary event - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak
Floppy Days 161 - Byte Shop Interviews
2026/03/26
Floppy Days 161 - Byte Shop Interviews
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
Hello, and welcome to episode 161 of the Floppy Days Podcast for March, 2026. I am Randy Kindig, your host for this wild ride through vintage computing.
This month I have a special episode prepared. For the 50th Anniversary event of the opening of the Byte Shop that occurred in California in December, 2025, I interviewed 11 different people with some sort of ties to Paul Terrell and the Byte Shop. Prior to the event itself, I published an approximately 30-minute-long video with just sound bites from those interviews to help get the word out (https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI). This month, I've taken the complete interviews (except for one) and created a longer episode out of it so you can hear the entirety of the interviews.
To be clear, each of the interviews has as its main topic the Byte Shop and Paul Terrell. However, at the same time, we're able to learn a bit about each of the people who have ties to the Byte Shop and Paul.
For this month's show, the 9 total interviews include the following people:
Rick Kahn, who worked at the Byte Shop of Placentia
Michael Tomczyk, Vic-20 Czar at Commodore
Rob Terrell, Paul's nephew and frequent visitor to the Byte Shop
Chuck Mauro, worked at Apple and Byte Shop #2
Lee Felsenstein, developer of the SOL and Osborne computers
Scott Shekels, frequent visitor to the Byte Shop
Teryl & Gloria Burt, Northstar distributor to the Byte Shop
Howell Ivy, developer of the Exidy Sorcerer and worked with Paul Terrell at Exidy
Paul Freiberger, computer historian
Intro
30-minute video of sound bites for Byte Shop 50th Anniversary Event - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI
New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To
Indy Vintage Computer Club - https://www.indyvcc.org
Midwest Computer Museum - https://www.midwestcomputermuseum.com
Power of Vintage - https://www.youtube.com/@powerofvintage9442
Tech Dungeon - https://www.techdungeon.xyz
8bitdevices - https://www.8bitdevices.com/
lightboxes:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/4306784729/lightbox-for-retro-computer-video-games
https://www.ebay.com/str/techdungeon
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335958112556
Upcoming Shows (thru June, 2026)
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/
Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class
VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/
Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org
VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/
Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/
INIT HELLO (Apple II) - June 19-21 - System Source Computer Museum, Hunt Valley, MD - https://init-hello.org/
Vintage Computer Festival GB 2026 - June 19-21 - Leigh, Wigan, United Kingdom - https://www.facebook.com/events/25457837877216829/
Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo - June 20 - New Westminster, BC, Canada - https://www.vancouvergamingexpo.com/index.html
Pacific Commodore Expo NW 2026 - June 20-21 - Old Rainier Brewery Intraspace, Seattle, WA - http://www.portcommodore.com/pacommex
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Feedback
Stewart Cheifet tribute from S.M. Oliva - https://www.computerchronicles.blog/podcast/chronicles-revisited-podcast-018-the-publics-broadcaster/
Floppy Days 160 - The KayPro, Part 4 with Matthew Jones
2026/02/25
Floppy Days 160 - The KayPro, Part 4, with Matt Jones
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
YouTube Channel: https://www.YouTube.com/@floppydayspodcast
Hello, and welcome to episode 160 of the Floppy Days Podcast for February, 2026. I'm Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, we are at the tail end of a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. I was able to interview David Kay, son of the founder of KayPro, and president of the company for some time, in the first two episodes. Last month, Matthew Jones, an aficionado of the KayPro computers and owner of many of the models, helped me talk about KayPro history, tech specs, and more, through the topic of using the machine. This month Matt and I complete the KayPro series by starting with books and magazines and ending with current Web sites and a lot more content in between.
I will have a video version of this episode posted to the Floppy Days Podcast channel on YouTube (https://www.YouTube.com/@floppydayspodcast ) that will be available for everyone soon (after the early access period for Patreon supporters has expired). So, please consider becoming a subscriber on YouTube. Doing so helps support the podcast.
You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!!
New Acquisitions
Atari XF551 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_XF551
Upcoming Shows
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/
Atari Invasion 2k26 (10th Anniversary) - March 21 - Maarssen, Netherlands - https://www.atari-invasion.nl
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/
Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class
VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/
Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org
VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/
Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/
Popular Magazines/Newsletters
Major September 1983 review in Byte - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/1983_09_BYTE_08-09_Kaypro-II.pdf
Heavily featured in Micro Cornucopia; curated Kaypro index here - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/kay-p13_micro-c.htm
First Osborne Group (FOG) - https://archive.org/details/foghornnewsletter
Non-Linear Systems published Pro-Files, a Kaypro users magazine - https://archive.org/search?query=collection%3Akayproprofiles&sort=-publicdate
Books
Chilton's Guide to Kaypro Repair and Maintenance by Gene Williams - https://amzn.to/4nQj6XV
Basic Kaypro for Kids Paperback by W. H. Darnell (Author), P. J. Barton (Author) - https://amzn.to/465ofFs
KayPro books at Amazon - https://amzn.to/4goRQgy
Kaypro II User's Guide (getting started, bundled software) - https://messui.polygonal-moogle.com/comp/kaypro_um.pdf
Dealer Quick Reference Manual - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_kayproKaypManual1982_1562045/page/n2/mode/1up
Using the Kaypro II personal computer by Lord, Kenniston W - https://archive.org/details/usingkayproiiper0000lord
The instant expert's guide to the Kaypro II by Bennett, M. D - https://archive.org/details/instantexpertsgu0000benn
KayPro Documentation, including KayPro Technical Manual - https://archive.org/details/the-kaypro-II-users-guide/1484-D_KayproTechnicalManual_Dec84/
Software
ROMs for KayPro - https://archive.org/details/KayproII_201809
TOSEC (The Old School Emulation Center) software collection at archive.org - https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_kayproKaypManual1982_1562045/page/n2/mode/1up
Software images - https://mame.spludlow.co.uk/SoftwareLists.aspx?Exact=true&List=kaypro
Ads and Appearances
Starring the Computer - https://www.starringthecomputer.com/computer.html?c=185
Modern Upgrades
Floppy emulation: Gotek/FlashFloppy widely used on Kaypros - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF0L6XpRugo
Hard drive emulation (FreHD): - https://www.google.com/search?q=FreHD+for+kaypro
Replacement ROMs: Advent TurboROM and KayPLUS:
ROM for emulators - https://mame.spludlow.co.uk/Machine.aspx?name=kayproii
buying TurboROM (eBay) - https://www.ebay.com/itm/326275234269
Emulation
MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsFw9VejeS8&pp=ygUGa2F5cHJv
https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?Main=8530&Number=107854&ubb=showflat
izkaypro - https://github.com/ivanizag/izkaypro
kobolt/kaytil - https://github.com/kobolt/kaytil
Virtual KayPro Computer - http://sims.durgadas.com/kaypro/kaypro.html
Buying One Today
replacement power supply - https://bonuslifecomputers.com/products/kaypro-meanwell-power-supply-mount?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=8d24492dc&pr_rec_pid=8108848349374&pr_ref_pid=7736195809470&pr_seq=uniform&variant=44048046653630
Community
Facebook - Kaypro Computer Users group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/580355602847013/
Forums:
AtariAge - https://forums.atariage.com/search/?q=kaypro&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=116
VCFed Kaypro discussions (active repair/usage help) - http://vcfed.com
Current Web Sites and Videos
Byte Magazine Sep. 1983 KayPro II Review - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/1983_09_BYTE_08-09_Kaypro-II.pdf
Bitsavers: Service guides, user/dealer manuals - https://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/kaypro/1484-E_KayproTechnicalManual_Ch1-15_Jun85.pdf
retrocmp (Kaypro portal): Model/board variations, flyers, notes - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro/
OldSilicon - Overviews & photos - https://www.oldsilicon.com/kaypro-ii
RetroArchive — disk images, TurboROMs, utilities and preservation images - http://www.retroarchive.org/
MESSUI (documented user manual scans) - http://messui.polygonal-moogle.com
books, magazines, software - https://www.archive.org
Kaypro Computer Ad (1983) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uStyBfC1pYE
KayPro II Tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoK0J69C80I by Scott Lawrence
I Hope My Modded Kaypro Doesn't Explode by Action Retro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsFw9VejeS8&pp=ygUGa2F5cHJv
Lazy Game Reviews - CP/M Vintage Goodies - Osborne 1 Computer & Kaypro IV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLnTAYMMLOc
Many videos at YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kaypro&sp=CAM%253D
References
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro
KayPro (CP/M) information at retrocmp.de - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro
KayPro Journal - http://kayprojournal.com
Floppy Days 159 - The KayPro, Part 3 with Matt Jones
2026/01/22
FLOPPY DAYS 159 - The KayPro - Part 3 With Matt Jones
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
Hello, and welcome to episode 159 of the Floppy Days Podcast for January, 2026. I'm Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, we are currently in the middle of a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. I was able to interview David Kay, son of the founder of KayPro, and president of the company for some time, in the previous two episodes. This month we'll delve into history, tech specs, and more, through the topic of using the machine. Next month we'll complete the series by starting with books and magazines and ending with current Web sites and a lot more content in between.
I will have a video version of this episode posted to the Floppy Days Podcast channel on YouTube.
You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!!
I also wanted to mention those listeners who appreciate the show enough to donate through patreon.com. I really appreciate you guys and it helps offset the cost of running the podcast.
Regarding that, I've created some tiers for paid members and have come up with some ways to reward those who are generous enough to monetarily support the Floppy Days Podcast on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays ), such as early access to videos of interviews like the one being brought to you in audio form in this episode. Visit Patreon to see more details concerning the rewards for supporters .
I just want to say that it is my intention to always make all content available to everyone at no cost, while at the same time providing some benefits for those generous enough to support the podcast. I hope you agree I've come up with a good compromise
Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!!
New Acquisitions
C64 Ultimate - https://www.commodore.net
Smith Corona Ultrasonic 450 Typewriter and Messenger Module - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTcWEU2UPgM
News
Interview with Stewart Cheifet for Floppy Days back in 2017 - https://floppydays.libsyn.com/floppy-days-78-interview-with-stewart-chefeit-computer-chronicles
Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows
Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/
Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com
Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/
Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com
Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/
Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2026 - April 25-26 - Burbank, CA - http://www.portcommodore.com/class
VCF Europe - May 1-3 - Munich, Germany - https://vcfe.org/E/
Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2026 - May 2-3 - Tukwila Community Center, South Tukwila, WA - https://vcfpnw.org
VCF Southwest - May 29-31, 2026 - Westin Dallas Ft. Worth Airport - https://www.vcfsw.org/
Retrofest 2026 - May 30-31 - Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon, UK - https://retrofest.uk/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
References
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro
KayPro (CP/M) information at retrocmp.de - https://retrocmp.de/kaypro
KayPro Journal - http://kayprojournal.com
Floppy Days 158 - Interview with David Kay, Kaypro - Part 2
2025/12/21
FLOPPY DAYS 158 - Interview with David Kay, KayPro - Part 2
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
Hello, and welcome to episode 158 of the Floppy Days Podcast for December, 2025. I'm Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, this month I'm beginning a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. In researching Kaypro, I discovered that while Andrew Kay, the founder of the computer company, was no longer around, it turns out his son David, who ran the company for some time, was still around. I was able to contact David and he graciously agreed to talk with us for the podcast. Kaypro has a very interesting storyline and I hope you enjoy this. We talked so long that I decided to break the interview into 2 parts, so you'll hear part 2 this month, and part 1 was last month. Following that, we'll delve into episodes covering history, tech specs, etc. on the Kaypro. All the usual topics. It looks as though I'll have 2 episodes covering those topics.
I will have a video for this posted to the Floppy Days Podcast on YouTube. One note here. This is one of the last videos where I used a videoconferencing tool that just didn't do a great job. It has a tendency to not keep up with video and you may note that the mouth doesn't stay in sync with the audio sometimes during the interview. In addition, audio-wise, you may hear some low clicks throughout the interview. I've since switched to Zoom and it seems to do a better job of audio and video quality, albeit more expensive. In the meantime, friend of the show Brian Cox offered to improve the audio quality using some high-end tools he had, and thanks to him, you benefit from his work. Hopefully, the clicks are gone and the sound from both David Kay and myself is better for the interview section. Thanks, Brian!
You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!!
I also wanted to mention those listeners who appreciate the show enough to donate through patreon.com. I really appreciate you guys and it helps offset the cost of running the podcast.
Regarding that, I've created some tiers for paid members and have come up with some ways to reward those who are generous enough to monetarily support the Floppy Days Podcast on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays ), such as early access to videos of interviews like the being brought to you in audio form in this episode. Visit Patreon to see more details concerning the rewards for supporters .
I just want to say that it is my intention to always make all content available to everyone at no cost, while at the same time providing some benefits for those generous enough to support the podcast. I hope you agree I've come up with a good compromise
Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!!
What I've Been Up To
Byte 50th Anniversary Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/853596483843378
Byte 50th Anniversary tribute mini-podcast on the Floppy Days YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/ANR1fYicwxI
New Acquisitions
Porta MC-10 - https://portacoco.com/
TRS-80 MODEL 4P GOTEK VERTICAL SLED - https://www.ebay.com/itm/157418076045
Upcoming Shows
Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/
Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com
Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/
Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com
Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/
Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
"The Word Processing Book" by Peter McWilliams - https://amzn.to/3M6zJks
Andrew Kay at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kay
KayPro at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro
Floppy Days 157 - Interview with David Kay, Kaypro - Part 1
2025/11/30
FLOPPY DAYS 157 - Interview with David Kay, KayPro - Part 1
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
Hello, and welcome to episode 157 of the Floppy Days Podcast for November, 2025. I am Randy Kindig, your host. We are currently covering computers introduced in the year 1982 and, to that end, this month I'm beginning a series of podcasts about the Kaypro line of computers. Kaypro had a rich and varied family of computers; certainly much more so than I ever realized. In researching Kaypro, I discovered that while Andrew Kay, the founder of the computer company, was no longer around, it turns out his son David, who ran the company for some time, was still around. I was able to contact David and he graciously agreed to talk with us for the podcast. Kaypro has a very interesting storyline and I hope you enjoy this. We talked so long that I decided to break the interview into 2 parts, so you'll hear part 1 this month, and part 2 next month. Following that, we'll delve into episodes covering history, tech specs, etc. on the Kaypro. All the usual topics. It looks as though I'll have 2 episodes covering those topics.
I will have a video for this posted to the Floppy Days Podcast on YouTube. One note here. This is one of the last videos where I used a videoconferencing tool that just didn't do a great job. It has a tendency to not keep up with video and you may note that the mouth doesn't stay in sync with the audio sometimes during the interview. In addition, audio-wise, you may hear some low clicks throughout the interview. I've since switched to Zoom and it seems to do a better job of audio and video quality, albeit more expensive.
You will hear ads from some great vintage computer stores, themselves vintage computer fans, throughout the early part of this podcast. For all of these storefronts, when you place an order, please mention Floppy Days in the notes or comments of the order. Doing so will help support the podcast. Many thanks!!
Please let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!!
What I've Been Up To
Byte 50th Anniversary Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/853596483843378
New Acquisitions
A2Pico - https://jcm-1.com/product/a2pico/
PicoMicroMac - https://jcm-1.com/product/picomicromac/
Upcoming Shows
World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/
Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/
Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com
Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/
Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com
Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/
Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
"The Word Processing Book" by Peter McWilliams - https://amzn.to/3M6zJks
Andrew Kay at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kay
KayPro at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaypro
Floppy Days 156 - Interview with Paul Schindler, Computer Chronicles
2025/10/30
Floppy Days 156 - Interview with Paul Schindler, Computer Chronicles
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper and https://thekeep.net
FutureVision Research
Tuc's Workbench
Hello, and welcome to episode 156 of the Floppy Days Podcast for October, 2025. I'm Randy Kindig, your host for this "retro"spective covering vintage computers of the late 70's through the 80's and the people who were on the forefront of that incredible revolution.
This month, I'm bringing you another interview episode with a tech media personality that was involved with the Computer Chronicles TV show (among many other things): Mr. Paul Schindler. Paul has a big personality and has a lot of great stories about Computer Chronicles and about the tech industry in general in those days. I really enjoyed talking with Paul and he made me laugh a lot!
As you know, if you're a regular listener, I was able to interview Stewart Cheifet some ago about Computer Chronicles. Computer Chronicles was a great way to get information about computers in those early days and I've always wanted to do some follow-up. Thanks to S.M. Oliva, who is mentioned in the resulting interview, and who runs a blog called "Computer Chronicles Revisited", I was able to get in contact with Paul.
Next up for Floppy Days will be a series of podcasts on the KayPro line of computers, for which I was able to line up an interview with a key figure from that company and was also able to find someone who knows a lot about the computer line to help me discuss the technical topics. Stay tuned for that series.
As usual, I will begin this podcast going through new acquisitions and what I've been up to, upcoming vintage computer shows and more.
Video version of the episode at YouTube:
New Acquisitions/What I've Been Up To
Tandy Assembly - https://www.tandyassembly.com
TRS-80 LED sign - https://techdungeon.xyz
TS2068 mailing list - https://ts2068.groups.io/g/main/topics
Compute!'s Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com
Atari Tricky Tutorial #7 Disk Utilities by Jerry White - https://www.atarimania.com/documents/Tricky-Tutorial-7-Disk-Utilities.pdf
TenoxVGA for Atari TT - https://www.legacypixels.com
Call-A.P.P.L.E. - https://www.callapple.org/
News
Compute's Gazette article from the October, 2025 issue about Floppy Days written by Brian Cox of FutureVision Research - https://shop.computesgazette.com/product/computes-gazette-issue-4-digital-edition-october-2025/
Upcoming Shows
Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net
Atari Party 2025 - Nov. 22, 2025 (noon to 4) - Quakertown, PA Train Station - http://atariparty.org/
World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/
Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/
Tandy Retro Show 2026 - Jan. 24-25 - virtual - tandyretroshow.com
Vintage Electronics Expo - Jan. 31, 2026 - Oakland Expo Center, Waterford, MI - https://www.thevee.org/
Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2026 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com
Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/
VCF East - April 17-19 2026 - InfoAge Science and History Museums, Wall, NJ - https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/
Midwest Gaming Classic - April 24-26 - Baird Center, Milwaukee, WI - https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
The Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! - April 24-25, 2026 - Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago-Carol Stream (Wheaton), Carol Stream, Illinois - https://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview
Paul's general Website - https://www.schindler.org
Paul Website about the Computer Chronicles - http://compchron.com/
S.M. Oliva's Computer Chronicles Revisited
Paul's long-running blog
Paul's podcast, PS A Podcast on Things
Paul recounts some tales from his Chronicles days
Paul's YouTube channel
Computer Chronicles at archive.org
Computer Chronicles episodes on YouTube
Floppy Days 155 - Interview with Karl Hornell, C64 Developer, cartoonist, author
2025/09/24
Floppy Days 155 - Interview with Karl Hornell - C64 Game Developer, Cartoonist, Author
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper
FutureVision Research
Hello, and welcome to episode 155 of the Floppy Days Podcast for September, 2025! I'm Randy Kindig, your host for this podcast, where we talk about the computers that got many of us started in our careers and which still hold a lot of interest for us today.
This month, I'm bringing you another interesting interview with someone who at an early age started developing commercial-grade software for the Commodore 64, which started him on an amazing trajectory with his career in software development, cartoonist, and more. His latest efforts include branching out into writing science fiction, which we will also discuss today.
The person I'm referring to is Karl Hornell (Her-NELL).
It's also an interesting story around how this interview opportunity came to me. I'm not used to getting contacted by an ad agency. This one indicated that their client, Karl, had just recently published a book and was looking for ways to advertise the book. They suggested that Floppy Days would be a great fit based on Karl's background and could be beneficial for both. I was skeptical at first, as I always am when I receive unsolicited, possibly spam email. However, once I researched Karl's background it became clear that he was an accomplished Swedish developer for the C64 back in the day, with some notariety. I felt his background might indeed be of interest to you, the listeners, and so happily agreed to interviewing Karl for the podcast. I hope you enjoy Karl's story and will consider taking a look at his new book.
New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To
Atari Bit Byter User Club (ABBUC) - https://www.abbuc.de
VCFMW - https://vcfmw.org/
Atari TT030 at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_TT030
David Anderson's Timex Sinclair sites:
https://andertone.com/
https://www.timexsinclair.com/
News
Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer - https://archive.org/details/stan-veits-history-of-the-personal-computer/mode/2up
David Greelish's YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TheComputerHistorian
Early chapters (1-9) of Stan Veit's book via audio - https://www.classiccomputing.com/CCPodcasts/Stan_Veit/Stan_Veit.html
Floppy Days YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@floppydayspodcast
Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows
Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/
Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home
Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net
World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/
Vintage Computer Festival Montreal - Jan. 24-25, 2026 - Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC - https://vcfed.org/vcf-montreal/
Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - February 14-15, 2025 - Hotel Fera Events Center, Orange, CA - vcfsocal.com
Indy Classic Computer and Video Game Expo - March 20-22 - Wyndham Indianapolis Airport Hotel, Indianapolis, IN - https://indyclassic.org/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUdQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Interview Links
Karl at Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_H%C3%B6rnell
Vic-Rapport Magazine (Wikipedia) - https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIC-rapport
"Generation 64 - How the Commodore 64 Inspired a Generation of Swedish Gamers" by Bitmap Books - https://amzn.to/3YUUlQ5 (affiliate link)
Karl Hornell's Applet Center - http://www.javaonthebrain.com/
Retro Gamer Magazine #130 with Karl interview - https://archive.org/details/retro-gamer-raspberry-pi-buenos-aires/Retro%20Gamer%20130/page/92/mode/2up
"Singularity Minus Twelve" book - https://amzn.to/3S8Yr3r (affiliate link)
Savage Dragonbert - https://wiki.savagedragon.com/comics/savage_dragonbert_full_frontal_nerdity_01/
Floppy Days 154 - Interview with Chuck Mauro Part 2
2025/08/28
Floppy Days 154 - Interview with Chuck Mauro, Part 2
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper
FutureVision Research
New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To
TI-55 9-Volt Battery Mod
9V Battery Clip Connectors from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Clip-Hard-Electronics-I-Type/dp/B0DRZWN3BN
YouTube video that talks about and shows the modification - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G-OucjNgTk
New Compute's Gazette - https://www.computesgazette.com/
C64 Ultimate - https://www.commodore.net/
Chroma81 - http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/ZX81/Chroma/ChromaInterface_Availability.htm
Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows
VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/
Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/
Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home
Ami West - November 1-2, Sacramento, CA - https://www.amiwest.net
World of Commodore 2025 - December 6-7 - Admiral Inn, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2025/
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Order Chuck's book - https://books.by/Chuck-Mauro
Floppy Days 153 - Interview with Chuck Mauro, Apple Employee 57, Entrepreneur and Author
2025/07/29
Floppy Days 153 - Interview with Chuck Mauro, Part 1
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/FloppyDays
Sponsors:
8-Bit Classics
Arcade Shopper
FutureVision Research
New Acquisitions and What I've Been Up To
KFest - https://www.kansasfest.org
CoCo 5V USB adapter - Tim Halloran:
Tryout Cable at GitHub - https://github.com/hallorant/bigmit/tree/master/coco2usb#trying-out-the-usb-mod-with-the-tryout-cable
Tim did a talk at Tandy Assembly 2021. You can find the slides here - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19PG-rJjY0_h8iO4LEgI_-lZHJsW6ekmSQ-hHDLxJ2CU/edit?usp=sharing
Video of USB Conversion by Tim - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfa4Db2OwE8
Upcoming Vintage Computer Shows
VCF West - August 1-2 - Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA - https://vcfed.org/2025/03/05/vcf-west-2025-save-the-date/
VCF Midwest - September 13-14, 2025 - Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL - http://vcfmw.org/
Tandy Assembly - September 26-28 - Courtyard by Marriott Springfield - Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com/
Portland Retro Gaming Expo - October 17-19 - Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR - https://retrogamingexpo.com/
Chicago TI International World Faire - October 25 - Evanston Public Library, Evanston, IL - https://www.chicagotiug.org/home
Schedule Published on Floppy Days Website - https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSeLsg4hf5KZKtpxwUQgacCIsqeIdQeZniq3yE881wOCCYskpLVs5OO1PZLqRRF2t5fUUiaKByqQrgA/pub
Order Chuck's book - https://books.by/Chuck-Mauro
Podcast reviews
Read Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast podcast reviews
AlmightyTodd 2020/12/30
A Must Listen
If you had any experience at all with the eight bit computers of the late 1970s through the mid 1980s... even if that experience was limited to wishin...
thaats me 2018/11/14
With the good come the bad
The information presented is great. Meanwhile the execution is awful. Countless times you’ll hear the host opening wrappers, moving paper, or just mak...
Lovekamp 2017/05/02
Great Throwback to Old PCs
Well edited, enjoyable reminiscences of the early days of personal computers. Discussions and interviews lead to great insights into different comput...
Gamester2112 2016/11/28
We love the HP-41, and other HP calculators and computers
As with all episodes of Floppy Days, episodes 59, and 60 were particularly interesting to me. I was so intrigued by the HP-41 series calculators, that...
_KayBee_ 2016/03/04
Fascinating and Amazing.
Maybe you got a computer when you were a kid. You played games on it, did your homework on it, made cool graphics on it or wrote code on it. Be prepar...
maxwellP2 2015/12/30
Great podcast, very informative, and creative
I've recently gotten into several of the retro computer podcasts. It's a lot of fun to listen to Randy talk about vintage computers, and his knowledge...
traidna 2015/12/20
Floppy Days Podcast is a Winner
Randy Kindig does an awesome job of bringing Retro-computers back to life. He provides awesome information, new news, interviews with extremely knowl...
Ripjetski 2014/11/24
Good Detail
Perfect podcast for learning the ins and outs of many different vintage computers. Great work!
aTruckDriver 2014/09/12
Unbiased early personal computer history
Started listening to this, expecting it to be heavily slanted towards one or two popular brands of vintage personal computer from the last half of the...
TVpro 2014/04/18
Always Intriguing !
Thank you for this extremely informative and detailed review of these classic machines! Now if you could just find a way for someone to have a vintag...
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