Podcasts about computer center

In this episode, Kevin and Jack talk about their favorite holidays, and what makes them so special. Share your answers to the discussion questions in our WhatsApp group chat! https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Download a study guide here: https://atozenglishpodcast.com/what-are-your-favorite-holidays/With listener mail from episode 14: https://atozenglishpodcast.com/technology-from-the-80s-and-90s/If you could take a minute and complete a short survey about the podcast, we would be very appreciative. You can find the survey here: https://forms.gle/HHNnnqU6U8W3DodK8We would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future episodes.Intro/Outro Music by Eaters: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/eaters/the-astronomers-office/agents-in-coffee-shops/JackYou are listening to the A-Z English podcast. KevinWelcome to an A-Z English quick chat. We're going to surprise each other with the topic for the day and see where the conversation goes. KevinRemember to check our website for steady guy with vocabulary notes and discussion questions as well as linked to our WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media pages so you can join in the conversation as well. KevinBut Jack what? KevinDo you want to talk about today? KevinWhat's this topic? JackToday I want to talk about favorite holidays so well. KevinAnd cool. JackI know that you're a big fan of of the holidays, the holiday season, and I am 2, but everybody got their like favorite. JackOne you know. JackAnd so I've kind of. JackI would like to use it to share with our listeners what your favorite. JackAmerican Holiday is and why? KevinYeah for holidays, that's interesting. KevinI'm it depends on the holiday for me because actually some holidays like Christmas. KevinI don't really like very much, but that's the and that was not I I Grinch or as screwed. JackAre you a Grinch or Scrooge? KevinIt's just when I was in university, I worked a couple of retail jobs at just like big stores. KevinAnd they just always played Christmas music all day, every day for two months the same the same CD repeated. JackRight, the same 7 songs. JackOver and over again, right. KevinAgain and again and again. KevinAnd I just got really sick of it. KevinIt's just like no more Christmas, but around that same time of year is the American Thanksgiving. KevinAnd that holiday is probably the holiday that I probably the holiday that I miss the most not living in America these days. KevinI'll talk about it a. KevinLittle bit, but what's? KevinWhat's yours first? JackSo mine is a little bit strange because it I don't know if it's technically a holiday, but I'm getting. KevinThings well, that's what you got. JackI'll tell you what it is. JackOK, so I when I was a kid, I loved Halloween. KevinOK, right. JackAnd I still do. JackI I, I still love Halloween. JackI love all the. JackThe icons, you know, like the Jack O Lantern and the witch and the ghosts and Dracula and vampires and zombies and all that sort of stuff. KevinRight. JackI love zombie movies and vampire movies. KevinRight. We talked about that. JackMovies, so I love horror. JackUhm, so for me, I just always loved Halloween. JackNow, in America, Halloween is not a day off from work. JackSo you still have to go to work on Halloween. KevinRight. JackSo it's not technically a holiday, but. KevinThe best. JackIt's something that we celebrate. KevinI think account. JackAnd it kind of, it is kind of like the first holiday of the holiday season which would be Thanksgiving, is in November and Christmas is in December and Halloween starts on. JackOctober 31st. KevinRight. KevinThat is pretty much where, yeah that that holiday season because, it's the three holidays basically in two months, you know end of October. KevinEnd of November. Kevinend of December. KevinJust bumping film all altogether. KevinThat's a a cool one, because it's so different from here in Korea too. KevinIn America, right? KevinLike in America? KevinI mean, people go crazy decorating their homes with so much holiday decorations my dad loves to decorate. KevinLike they would set up this, their whole yard would have, you know, skeletons and witches and light shows and things there's. JackAh, I love when families really get into it like that. JackLike, uh. JackWhat when we were young, what was really exciting for my brother and me was to go to a pumpkin patch, and so we would. KevinOh, OK, cool. JackWe would each pick out a pumpkin, and then we would bring it home. JackAnd then you take all the insides of the pumping out, and then you carve what's called a Jackal Lantern, and that's. JackYou know, you put you, you cut out the eyes and you cut out a nose and a mouth. JackAnd you put a candle inside of it, and at night it looks really cool because it glows with that fandom inside. KevinYeah, I I remember doing that. KevinWhat did you guys do with the pumpkin seeds? JackWe just threw it all in the garbage. JackIt was just like, the smell is not so good.Oh, Oh no. JackAnd I know that. JackI know pumpkin seeds are really quite healthy and you can you can bake them or, yeah, that's smart. KevinThat's what we would do. KevinIt's really simple, like there's. KevinAll the pumpkin guts and I don't remember I. KevinI'm sure my mom just threw that away. KevinShe would like pick all the seeds out. KevinOf it, but she would. KevinJust line, uh, Trey, just with seeds. KevinAnd throw it in the oven and just sprinkle salt over it. KevinSo just salted pumpkin seeds. KevinReally simple. KevinAnd yeah, every year we would we would have just a big tray of pumpkin seeds after making our jack-o'-lanterns. JackI think we were just too lazy to kind of pull the guts apart from the seeds. JackLike it's kind of hard to separate the seeds. KevinYeah, they all stuck together. JackIt's all stuck together, but yeah. KevinI don't remember how my mom did it, but I know she was she. KevinWas the one in charge of Elsa. JackThis is a hard worker, yeah? KevinYes, wait. JackThe yeah and the other thing I like, I like the season. JackMy favorite season is fall and so Halloween comes kind of at the end of fall or right in the middle of fall, I guess. JackAnd the air is kind of in English we say brisk. JackSo it's kind of, that's my favorite temperature. KevinI do love the fall as well. JackI love it. JackYeah, just the. KevinAnd Thanksgiving then is just a couple weeks later, and so it's starting to get a little bit cold. KevinBut it depends on where you live. KevinOf course for me. KevinThanksgiving and Thanksgiving is a holiday. KevinA day off of work, of course. KevinAnd I always loved Thanksgiving because it's just a gathering of friends and family. KevinAnd for us, I have a pretty small family, especially growing up, like my family is spread all over America. KevinSo Thanksgiving, we would actually go over to a family friends house and we would join in their big Thanksgiving. KevinInstead of my family, which is just three people. KevinWe would go and join this big group where there was like 20 people there and we would, you know, there was a ton of food. KevinOf course it's Thanksgiving food, but then also it was really fun because there were all the other kids to play with all the other families, and so we'd all eat and eat and eat a lot. KevinAnd then after, of course. KevinIt was, you know, the parents and the adults would all go and either watch TV or talk or whatever and all the kids we would go up to. KevinOne of the kids rooms at whatever house we were at and we played a lot of video games. KevinI know we talked about that a couple episodes ago. KevinAnd so it was just a really fun day to to gather all together with friends and family. KevinAnd then I did the same when I was in university. KevinActually, because again, Thanksgiving has always been really big for me. KevinAnd when you're in university, you know, some people live or some people, parents, homes. KevinAre quite far from the university town. KevinAnd so sometimes my friends would go home for Thanksgiving, and they'd go back. KevinBut before Thanksgiving, every year, we would do a friendsgiving. KevinAnd so it was all the friends would get together because Thanksgiving Day is for family and so some people would go home. KevinBut before that, like one week before, we have all the friends to come together and everyone would, you know, we're just college students. KevinWe don't have a lot of money. KevinWe don't have a lot of. KevinThey don't have a lot of space, but everyone would do. KevinWe do a potluck. KevinAnd so, you know, I would bring some food and my other friend would bring some food and everyone would bring something and we would all come together and do like a friend Thanksgiving, where we'd all just get together. JackDid you, did you cook? JackA bird like like make for our listeners out there like the most traditional of Thanksgiving. JackFood is the Turkey we yeah, I made a Turkey and did you guys do a Turkey for friendsgiving? KevinSometimes everyone would do something different. KevinThere was almost always someone would do our Turkey, would actually bake the whole Turkey. KevinWhat I I always like to have fun with my friends giving. KevinSo Turkey is still the traditional food for it. KevinBut what I did for my friends giving for two years. KevinIn a row I remember I did different things, though I still did Turkey, but not like the big, you know, full birds cooked in an oven. JackYeah, that's too much for just a few friends, yeah. KevinUhm, yeah. KevinSo what I did though is I would go and just buy some Turkey meat and one year I did Turkey tacos. JackTurkey tacos, OK, yeah. KevinSo it was still Turkey. KevinYou still get that traditional Turkey, but I was like, I'm going to do something different with it. KevinAnd we did Turkey tacos or another year. KevinI did Turkey sandwiches, and so we'd still do like, the cranberry spread, but instead of, you know, just on the plate of Turkey meat and cranberries and things. KevinIt was a Turkey sandwich, basically, so I played with the theme a little bit. JackThat's fun that the Turkey Taco thing is definitely a good representation of where you're from. The SW yeah, you're close to Mexico. So yeah, of course. KevinThat too, yeah. JackMexican food. JackThat kind of fusion with Thanksgiving is a great idea. JackI the thing I remember is the week after Thanksgiving. JackHow many Turkey sandwiches my brother and I would eat because my mom had all of this meat leftover from Thanksgiving? KevinLots of blood fingers. JackYeah, it was just Turkey sandwiches for, like, a week after Thanksgiving. JackYeah, every day. JackYeah, but I loved it. KevinThat was the best part. JackI love Turkey. KevinWhen, yeah, I loved when I a couple years I went to my friend because I was living away from my parents in university, but one of my good friends, he was still living with his. KevinFamily. And so they would invite me to their house for Thanksgiving as again, just big important holiday. And I would love that because as a college student going to my friend's mom house, that mom would make tons of food and always would give me bags and bags of food to take home after I had tons of leftovers. JackAnd then when you're a poor college student, that there's nothing better than free food. KevinOh yeah. KevinThere's nothing better than free food, and I think this is kind of an interesting place to end, and that's something I'd love to talk to or hear from our audience about our listeners. KevinLike one what holiday is important for you and what's your favorite holiday? KevinBut what does your family do on those holidays? KevinAnd is it the same or is it different? KevinFrom other holidays and every family has her own trip. JackThat's right. In every country got its own you know cultural holidays that might not align with the with the US so share, share those two because. Yeah. KevinAnd that. JackVery interested in in lots of different you know stories and lots of different conditions. KevinI think Thanksgiving would be what I'd love to hear because a lot of countries don't have Thanksgiving in the same way, but they have some harvest festival, and that's really what Thanksgiving is. JackDad, right. Yeah, yeah. KevinYou know, here in Korea we've got chalk, and in America we've got Thanksgiving. KevinAnd it's the same idea, but it's so different. KevinBut still, it's getting friends, it's getting family together and food. JackYeah, it's all there's all of its family and food. KevinSo she. JackThose are the two common denominators. KevinThose are the big ones. JackI think they, yeah. JackCut across all the holidays. KevinYeah, yeah. KevinThat's so I'd love to hear what different holidays you have, but also how do you do your holidays?Because, maybe it's different and holidays are fun to talk about. KevinAlways a happy time of year, hopefully. KevinAnd so that's where it's a good topic to to discuss. KevinBut we can go ahead. KevinAnd wrap up with that for today. KevinSo what about listener mail Jack who has who sent in today? JackYes, so we. JackHave, yeah, so we have some listener messages from our listener mail from. JackNikki and I'm I apologize if I. KevinAnd this was actually on our website of course, so you can comment on there. JackYeah, yeah. JackNikki wrote right into the yeah, you can just leave a comment right on our website. JackAnd so she said hi, Kevin and Jack. JackAnd the question was how did you learn to type? JackAnd so that was one of the discussion questions that we had in a recent episode, I believe. KevinThat was from, yeah, quick Chat 14 about our technology discussion, our old technology one. JackThat's right, that's right, Nikki said. JackI learned to type when I studied for two years at university and I started a part time job at that time. JackIn the interview, the first question was, can I use a computer? JackHere, unfortunately, we didn't have a computer in our house. KevinYou don't. JackIt was very difficult to find an Internet cafe in our city. JackFortunately, my father friend worked at the university at the Computer Center, and so Nikki says I asked permission from him to use the computer. KevinOK, nice. JackYeah, he showed me how to turn up, turn on and turn off the computer and then said the best way to learn is just. JackDo it by yourself. JackSo he didn't really help her help Nikki. JackAnd so, uh, but Nikki figured it out and even though it was hard, eventually learned how to type. JackSo there you go. JackThat's a very interesting story. JackAnd yeah, I mean, that's the way you learn things anyway, right? JackIt's just talking about doing it. KevinIt really is. KevinJust start. KevinJust do it. KevinJust get in there and start clicking around. KevinThat's great. KevinWell, thanks for writing it on the website, Nikki. KevinThat's very cool information to have. KevinAnd for everybody, of course, you can please check out our website where we have all of our information. KevinThen of course you can comment right on there, but also remember to check the show notes where you can get links to the website and links to our WhatsApp group where you can come and join the conversation. KevinTell us more. KevinAlso, if you've got the time, it would be great if on Apple Podcast you could go and give us a 5 star review. KevinAnd write a comment about how we're helping you with your English here. KevinSo everybody, thanks for joining in and see you in our chat. JackAlright, bye. Bye.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"El empoderamiento de una mujer es innato. Es cuestión de activarlo y tener confianza." En este episodio especial traído gracias a Liberty Business, patrocinador oficial de la mujer empresaria de PR, le presentamos la historia de Lourdes Aponte, Presidenta Electa del Centro Unido de Detallistas (CUD) y Propietaria por más de 22 años del Educational & Computer Center (ECC), en donde te narra su trayectoria exitosa como empresaria y su gran rol en la industria de la tecnología. Lourdes, desde los comienzos de la nueva era tecnológica y viendo la necesidad del acceso a la tecnología, se atrevió a dar el paso y seguir su pasión en impactar y educar a más personas con el propósito de que puedan capacitarse inmediatamente desde lo básico hasta lo avanzado. ¡En Jefas Jefas y Jevas nos encanta narrar historias de éxito con el apoyo de Liberty Business! ¡Nuestra meta es seguir educando a mujeres latinas sobre finanzas personales y de negocio! Siguenos en las redes sociales: IG: @jefasyjevas (instagram.com/jefasyjevas) Facebook: Jefas y Jevas - Celina Nogueras (facebook.com/jefasyjevas) Youtube: Jefas y Jefas (bit.ly/3D6bl9W) Spotify: Jefas y Jevas (spoti.fi/3wwRAqI) Apple Podcasts: Jefas y Jevas (apple.co/36ocwpk) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jefasyjevas/support

When the Computer Center opened along with the Engineering Quadrangle at Princeton in 1962, who knew that the Music Department would be one of its biggest users? The composers were there at all hours, punching their cards and running huge jobs overnight on the room-sized, silent IBM 7090. Working without the ability to hear what they were creating, listening only to the music in their minds, these classical music composers managed to synthesize some of the trippiest music you’ll ever hear. But it was also the sound of progress, as they broke new ground in how digital music is created. Some of their advances live on to this day in music synthesis software. Much of the music you’ll hear on this episode was created by James K. Randall, the Princeton music professor who is credited with showing the computer’s early promise for creating nuanced music.

What is happening at these places??? We as a people want to know...!!! Is Rudloe Manor the UK's area 51? Did the MIB originate from here? What is the Corsham Computer Center and what does it do? Is there a super bunker that contains a UFO and is ready to accept the government and royal family incase of war? Why are all these places so close together? These are just a few of the questions that i will be asking and giving the FFB treatment too.

If you are a parent or ever plan on being one, then DONT MISS THIS EPISODE! Allan Jones is President of Emaginos, a company dedicated to transforming K-12 education for every child in America. He previously co-founded a company called Intelligent Education that provided virtual, online high-school courses to students across the country with faculty members from Florida to Hawaii.  He taught high school mathematics for seven years and computer courses for three.  He also ran the Computer Center for the Oxford, Massachusetts school district. Mr. Jones worked ten years in corporate research at Digital Equipment Corporation. He then worked as a senior researcher and planning consultant for the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT), where he assisted schools, districts, and states with technology planning. He also spent three years as Director of Information Systems at The Westminster Schools (an outstanding independent day school in Atlanta, GA).  A career educator with a history of leadership and innovation, Allan has designed and implemented educational programs that received national recognition and validation by the U.S. Department of Education. One of those programs, Project COFFEE, founded in the late 1970s, became a national model for getting high-school dropouts back into school and on a path to success.  The original program and several of its offspring are still in operation today.  His education partnering with industry resulted in a letter of recognition from President Reagan. While at Digital Equipment Corporation he advised institutions such as MIT and the National Science Foundation on developing and implementing industry/university research relationships.  He was responsible for coordinating research programs and relationships between Digital and leading universities all over the world.  His education experience ranges from the high school classroom to elementary school computer vacation camps, and includes roles in administration as director of a school district computer center, classroom math teacher, and school board member. Show Notes: - I wake up every morning with 2 goals… learn something new, and make the world a better place! - If you can find pleasure in making others “feel good” you will never be poor or alone. - Everything is part of a system… nothing happens by itself. - You only learn when you “fail forward” and learn from your mistakes. Nothing is learned when everything is going perfect. - What is wrong with our education system… - Tests are useless! - Find things kids are interested EMAGINOS? - What is in and teach them about those subjects. - When the last time you used Algebra? - Kids need to “DO” and not be taught and tested… - As parents you cannot just teach, but DEMOSTRATE! - #GENERATONALHABITS Connect with Allan Website: https://emaginos.com Connect with Jeremy and Optimal Self: Links: (We LOVE to be tagged in your posts, please share our content and tag us!) - Main Page: www.OptimalSelf.Today - Links to our Podcast, all social media, PLUS join our Private Facebook Group, Free "Identity Creator" Course, and more! - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAkydziqrlYZIFmOgD1kTPA - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OptimalSelf1 - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/optimal_self/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@optimalself

About Allan: Mr. Jones is President of Emaginos, a company dedicated to transforming K-12 Education for every child in America. He previously co-founded a company called Intelligent Education that provided virtual, online high-school courses to students across the country with faculty members from Florida to Hawaii. He taught high school mathematics for seven years and computer courses for three. He also ran the Computer Center for the Oxford, Massachusetts school district. Mr. Jones worked ten years in corporate research at Digital Equipment Corporation. He then worked as a senior researcher and planning consultant for the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT), where he assisted schools, districts and states with technology planning. He also spent three years as Director of Information Systems at The Westminster Schools (an outstanding independent day school in Atlanta, GA). A career educator with a history for leadership and innovation, Allan has designed and implemented education programs that received national recognition and validation by the U.S. Department of Education. One of those programs, Project COFFEE, founded in the late 1970s, became a national model for getting high-school dropouts back into school and on a path to success. The original program and several of its offspring are still in operation today. His education partnering with industry resulted in a letter of recognition from President Reagan. While at Digital Equipment Corporation he advised institutions such as MIT and the National Science Foundation on developing and implementing industry/university research relationships. He was responsible for coordinating research programs and relationships between Digital and leading universities all over the world. His education experience ranges from the high school classroom to elementary school computer vacation camps, and includes roles in administration as director of a school district computer center, classroom math teacher, and school board member. In the episode we discuss: Allan's upbringing in Maine His time in the Navy Deciding between Military & Raising a Family His love for Education The creation of Project COFFEE Being recognized as an industry leader Why Emaginos? And More! Connect with Allan: Website: https://emaginos.com/ Connect with Jordan: https://linktr.ee/byotconsulting This season is sponsored by View Arcade & Atlanta Global Realty check them out below: View Arcade: Make sure to check out the Vumi app launching soon! https://linktr.ee/viewarcade Atlanta Global Realty: Contact Francisco Nunez for your home buying or selling needs! https://linktr.ee/francisconunez Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email us: podcast@blazeyourowntrailconsulting.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/blazeyourowntrail/message

Pazetta shares oral history about growing up in Boyce, Louisiana on a former plantation, living in the caretaker’s home with slave cabins on the property; her Choctaw Indian great grandmother Milly being traded by an Indian chief, possibly her father, for a horse as a child; her great grandfather, Revolutionary War patriot descendant Captain Henry Newton Berryman, and his first wife, Helena, a white woman, raising Milly then, him having an affair with her, resulting in a child, Many, neither being slaves; her grandfather Many's warm relationship with Helena; Capt. Henry also having children with an enslaved woman, graduating from West Point in 1817, protecting a black boy from being lynched, giving his enslaved blacks his Natchitoches, Louisiana plantation; Helena protecting slaves; her Choctaw Indian and white father and black mother both from Natchitoches; her father and his brothers marrying black since it was unacceptable for a white woman to marry a mixed race man but his sisters marrying white; her father selling high value paper shell pecans as a farmer; WWII soldiers on family farm for maneuvers, having a lonely soldier at the table every night wanting to talk; attending a four room schoolhouse; being the darkest in family; her father accepted in Creole community as "the old Indian"; being bullied in Marshall, Texas because black kids were jealous she had hair to her waist; relation to Sir Isaac Newton; earning a gold medal in the Texas AAA division public speaking contest and graduating in the top ten in high school, voted Best All-Around Girl by faculty; attending Wiley College, majoring in mathematics, voted Most Beautiful, a Kappa Alpha Psi Sweetheart, joining Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, selected as Miss Junior, Homecoming Queen, graduating Cum Laude; her Creole mother in-law wearing a black dress to wedding in mourning because her son was with a chocolate girl; sister in-law being bothered by her being accepted into the DAR; deciding to identify as black; keeping her Native American heritage a secret; working as a research assistant at Penn State Physics Dept; working at Tennessee State University teaching math and in the Computer Center; her daughter born with club feet, placing them in casts, enrolling her in ballet, resulting in her studying at the School of American Ballet and dancing with Dance Theater of Harlem all over the world; giving talks about the effect of nutrition on disabilities; hunters gathering wild deer, rabbits, squirrel and turkeys for her daughter's dietary needs; giving talks about the contributions and culture of Native Americans; lifting weights five times a week; her maternal ancestors enslaved on George Washington's plantation; feeling a sense of pride discovering her Revolutionary War patriot William Berryman serving in Virginia; for those who suggest we go back to Africa "my lineage was here before you arrived and we fought for the freedom of this country"; father saying to maintain the race, marry someone darker skinned so the descendants can have an identity and be accepted by blacks; tracing oral history by writing a sheriff in Texas who delivered her letter to a white cousin who in turn recommended she join the DAR, then her children's pediatrician's wife, also a DAR member, suggesting she join; giving DAR a try despite the society's history of racism, joining to be a part of what she was entitled to; serving as chapter regent in Nashville, Tennessee, a couple of members transferring out because she was black but the rest embracing her; seeing more blacks in the society and members used to seeing them; "Blacks, Whites and Native Americans, we are all a part of this and we have to work together if we want to make a difference".Read Pazetta's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughtersSubscribe to the newsletter at www.daughterdialogues.com

I just finished reading a book by Ben Peters called How Not To Network A Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet. The book is an amazing deep dive into the Soviet attempts to build a national information network primarily in the 60s. The book covers a lot of ground and has a lot of characters, although the most recurring is Viktor Glushkov, and if the protagonist isn't the Russian scientific establishment, perhaps it is Viktor Glushkov. And if there's a primary theme, it's looking at why the Soviets were unable to build a data network that covered the Soviet Union, allowing the country to leverage computing at a micro and a macro scale  The final chapter of the book is one of the best summaries and most insightful I've ever read on the history of computers. While he doesn't directly connect the command and control heterarchy of the former Soviet Union to how many modern companies are run, he does identify a number of ways that the Russian scientists were almost more democratic, or at least in their zeal for a technocratic economy, than the US Military-Industrial-University complex of the 60s.   The Sources and Bibliography is simply amazing. I wish I had time to read and listen and digest all of the information that went into the making if this amazing book. And the way he cites notes that build to conclusions. Just wow. In a previous episode, we covered the memo, “Memorandum for Members and Affiliates of the Intergalactic Computer Network” - sent by JCR Licklider in 1963. This was where the US Advanced Research Projects Agency instigated a nationwide network for research. That network, called ARPAnet, would go online in 1969, and the findings would evolve and change hands when privatized into what we now call the Internet. We also covered the emergence of Cybernetics, which Norbert Wiener defined in 1948 as a the systems-based science of communication and automatic control systems - and we covered the other individuals influential in its development.  It's easy to draw a straight line between that line of thinking and the evolution that led to the ARPAnet. In his book, Peters shows how Glushkov uncovered cybernetics and came to the same conclusion that Licklider had, that the USSR needed a network that would link the nation. He was a communist and so the network would help automate the command economy of the growing Russian empire, an empire that would need more people managing it than there were people in Russia, if the bureaucracy continued to grow at a pace that was required to do the manual computing to get resources to factories and good to people. He had this epiphany after reading Wiener's book on cybernetics - which had been hidden away from the Russian people as American propaganda.  Glushkov's contemporary, Anatoly Kitov had come to the same realization back in 1959. By 1958 the US had developed the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, or SAGE. The last of that equipment went offline in 1984. The environment was a system of networked radar equipment that could be used as eyes in the sky to detect a Soviet attack. It was crazy to think about that a few years ago, but think today about a radar system capable of detecting influence in elections and maybe notsomuch any more. SAGE linked computers built by IBM.  The Russians saw defense as cost prohibitive. Yet at Stalin's orders they began to develop a network of radar sites in a network of sorts around Moscow in the early 50s, extending to Leningrad. They developed the BESM-1 mainframe in 1952 to 1953 and while Stalin was against computing and western cybernetic doctrine outside of the military, as in America, they were certainly linking sites to launch missiles. Lev Korolyov worked on BESM and then led the team to build the ballistic missile defense system.  So it should come as no surprise that after a few years Soviet scientists like Glushkov and Kitov would look to apply military computing know-how to fields like running the economics of the country.  Kitov had seen technology patterns before they came. He studied nuclear physics before World War II, then rocketry after the war, and he then went to the Ministry of Defence at Bureau No 245 to study computing. This is where he came in contact with Wiener's book on Cybernetics in 1951, which had been banned in Russia at the time. Kitov would work on ballistic missiles and his reputation in the computing field would grow over the years. Kitov would end up with hundreds of computing engineers under his leadership, rising to the rank of Colonel in the military.  By 1954 Kitov was tasked with creating the first computing center for the Ministry of Defence. They would take on the computing tasks for the military. He would oversee the development of the M-100 computer and the transition into transistorized computers. By 1956 he would write a book called “Electronic Digital Computers” and over time, his views on computers grew to include solving problems that went far beyond science and the military. Running company Kitov came up with the Economic Automated Management System in 1959. This was denied because the military didn't want to share their technology. Khrushchev sent Brezhnev, who was running the space program and an expert in all things tech, to meet with Kitov. Kitov was suggesting they use this powerful network of computer centers to run the economy when the Soviets were at peace and the military when they were at war.  Kitov would ultimately realize that the communist party did not want to automate the economy. But his “Red Book” project would ultimately fizzle into one of reporting rather than command and control over the years.  The easy answer as to why would be that Stalin had considered computers the tool of imperialists and that feeling continued with some in the communist party. The issues are much deeper than that though and go to the heart of communism. You see, while we want to think that communism is about the good of all, it is irrational to think that people will act ways in their own self-interest. Microeconomics and macroeconomics. And automating command certainly seems to reduce the power of those in power who see that command taken over by a machine. And so Kitov was expelled from the communist party and could no longer hold a command.  Glushkov then came along recommending the National Automated System for Computation and Information Processing, or OGAS for short, in 1962. He had worked on computers in Kyiv and then moved to become the Director of the Computer Center in Ukraine at the Academy of Science. Being even more bullish on the rise of computing, Glushkov went further even added an electronic payment system on top of controlling a centrally planned economy. Computers were on the rise in various computer centers and other locations and it just made sense to connect them. And they did at small scales.  As was done at MIT, Glushkov built a walled garden of researchers in his own secluded nerd-heaven. He too made a grand proposal. He too saw the command economy of the USSR as one that could be automated with a computer, much as many companies around the world were employing ERP solutions in the coming decades.  The Glushkov proposal continued all the way to the top. They were able to show substantial return on investment yet the proposal to build OGAS was ultimately shot down in 1970 after years of development. While the Soviets were attempting to react to the development of the ARPAnet, they couldn't get past infighting. The finance minister opposed it and flatly refused. There were concerns about which ministry the system would belong to and basically political infighting much as I've seen at many of the top companies in the world (and increasingly in the US government).  A major thesis of the book is that the Soviet entrepreneurs trying to build the network acted more like capitalists than communists and Americans building our early networks acted more like socialists than capitalists. This isn't about individual financial gains though. Glushkov and Kitov in fact saw how computing could automate the economy to benefit everyone. But a point that Peters makes in the book is centered around informal financial networks. Peters points out that Blat, the informal trading of favors that we might call a black market or corruption, was common place. An example he uses in the book is that if a factory performs at 101% of expected production the manager can just slide under the radar. But if they perform at 120% then those gains will be expected permanently and if they ever dip below the expected productivity, they might meet a poor fate. Thus Blat provides a way to trade goods informally and keep the status quo. A computer doing daily reports would make this kind of flying under the radar of Gosplan, or the Soviet State Planning Committee difficult. Thus factory bosses would likely inaccurately enter information into computers and further the Tolchachs, or pushers, of Blat.  A couple of points I'd love to add onto those Peters made, which wouldn't be obvious without that amazing last paragraph in the book. The first is that I've never read Bush, Licklider, or any of the early pioneers claim computers should run a macroeconomy. The closest thing that could run a capitalist economy. And the New York Stock Exchange would begin the process of going digital in 1966 when the Dow was at 990. The Dow sat at about that same place until 1982. Can you imagine that these days? Things looked bad when it dropped to 18,500. And the The London Stock Exchange held out going digital until 1986 - just a few years after the dow finally moved over a thousand. Think about that as it hovers around $26,000 today. And look at the companies and imagine which could get by without computers running their company - much less which are computer companies. There are 2 to 6 billion trades a day. It would probably take more than the population of Russia just to push those numbers if it all weren't digital. In fact now, there's an app (or a lot of apps) for that. But the point is, going back to Bush's Memex, computers were to aid in human decision making. In a world with an exploding amount of data about every domain, Bush had prophesied the Memex would help connect us to data and help us to do more. That underlying tenant infected everyone that read his article and is something I think of every time I evaluate an investment thesis based on automation.  There's another point I'd like to add to this most excellent book. Computers developed in the US were increasingly general purpose and democratized. This led to innovative new applications just popping up and changing the world, like spreadsheets and word processors. Innovators weren't just taking a factory “online” to track the number of widgets sold and deploying ICBMs - they were foundations for building anything a young developer wanted to build. The uses in education with PLATO, in creativity with Sketchpad, in general purpose languages and operating systems, in early online communities with mail and bulletin boards, in the democratization of the computer itself with the rise of the pc and the rapid proliferation with the introduction of games, and then the democratization of raw information with the rise of gopher and the web and search engines. Miniaturized and in our pockets, those are the building blocks of modern society. And the word democratization to me means a lot. But as Peters points out, sometimes the Capitalists act like Communists. Today we close down access to various parts of those devices by the developers in order to protect people. I guess the difference is now we can build our own but since so many of us do that at #dayjob we just want the phone to order us dinner. Such is life and OODA loops. In retrospect, it's easy to see how technological determinism would lead to global information networks. It's easy to see electronic banking and commerce and that people would pay for goods in apps. As the Amazon stock soars over $3,000 and what Jack Ma has done with Alibaba and the empires built by the technopolies at Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and dozens of others. In retrospect, it's easy to see the productivity gains. But at the time, it was hard to see the forest through the trees. The infighting got in the way. The turf-building. The potential of a bullet in the head from your contemporaries when they get in power can do that I guess.  And so the networks failed to be developed in the USSR and ARPAnet would be transferred to the National Science Foundation in 1985, and the other nets would grow until it was all privatized into the network we call the Internet today, around the same time the Soviet Union was dissolved. As we covered in the episode on the history of computing in Poland, empires simply grow beyond the communications mediums available at the time. By the fall of the Soviet Union, US organizations were networking in a build up from early adopters, who made great gains in productivity increases and signaled the chasm crossing that was the merging of the nets into the Internet. And people were using modems to connect to message boards and work with data remotely. Ironically, that merged Internet that China has splinterneted and that Russia seems poised to splinter further. But just as hiding Wiener's cybernetics book from the Russian people slowed technological determinism in that country, cutting various parts of the Internet off in Russia will slow progress if it happens. The Soviets did great work on macro and micro economic tracking and modeling under Glushkov and Kitov. Understanding what you have and how data and products flow is one key aspect of automation. And sometimes even more important in helping humans make better-informed decisions. Chile tried something similar in 1973 under Salvador Allende, but that system failed as well.  And there's a lot to digest in this story. But that word progress is important. Let's say that Russian or Chinese crackers steal military-grade technology from US or European firms. Yes, they get the tech, but not the underlying principals that led to the development of that technology. Just as the US and partners don't proliferate all of their ideas and ideals by restricting the proliferation of that technology in foreign markets. Phil Zimmerman opened floodgates when he printed the PGP source code to enable the export of military-grade encryption. The privacy gained in foreign theaters contributed to greater freedoms around the world. And crime. But crime will happen in an oppressive regime just as it will in one espousing freedom.  So for you hackers tuning in - whether you're building apps, hacking business, or reingineering for a better tomorrow: next time you're sitting in a meeting and progress is being smothered at work or next time you see progress being suffocated by a government, remember that those who you think are trying to hold you back either don't see what you see, are trying to protect their own power, or they might just be trying to keep progress from outpacing what their constituents are ready for. And maybe those are sometimes the same thing, just from a different perspective. Because go fast at all costs not only leaves people behind but sometimes doesn't build a better mousetrap than what we have today. Or, go too fast and like Kitov you get stripped of your command. No matter how much of a genius you, or your contemporary Glushkov are. The YouTube video called “Internet of Colonel Kitov” has a great quote: “pioneers are recognized by the arrows sticking out of their backs.” But hey, at least history was on their side!  Thank you for tuning in to the History of Computing Podcast. We are so, so, so lucky to have you. Have a great day and I hope you too are on the right side of history!

Tracy Frey, Atari Birthday Girl There's an article in the New York Times, dated April 9, 1982: "8-Year-Old's Birthday Party in a Computer Center." The story, written by Barbara Gamareklin, is about the birthday party of Tracey Pizzo — now Tracey Frey — which took place at the Capital Children's Museum in Washington, DC. Quoting the article: Tracy Pizzo decided that Chunky’s Cheese Pizza Parlor was not the place for her eighth birthday party after all. She chose the Future Center of the Capital Children’s Museum, where her 13 guests were able to try their hand at the video games on 20 Atari 800 microcomputers. Without waiting to remove their coats and jackets, the girls, most of them 6 to 8 years old, rushed toward the glowing multicolored screens. In no time they were engrossed in computer games — from Asteroids and Find Hurkle to Lemonade Stand. "Go, Megan, go!" cried 6-year-old Enid Maran, who was still wearing her black kid gloves. "We have to explode those little stars." Megan Thaler worked her control lever and sent a stream of blue and red simulated antiaircraft fire across the screen in the direction of a small green airplane. Tracy’s mother, Peggy Pizzo, said that Tracy’s older sister, Cara, had been to the Future Center on a school field trip "and Tracy got so excited when she heard about it that she insisted we have a computer birthday party.” ... "Tracy said the reason she wanted to come was because her friends liked to push buttons," said 11-year-old Cara, who had baked the white birthday cake with pink frosting that had "Eight" spelled out in strawberries. "What is your name?" the Birthday Banner computer asked. "And how old are you now? Are you a boy or a girl?" As Tracy typed in the answers and her friends serenaded her with “Happy Birthday,” a five-foot computer tape slowly emerged from the machine, reading in letters six inches tall: "Happy Birthday Tracy."... Tracy, aided by her friends, Katherine Herz and Annamaria Hibbs, tried out her entrepreneurial skills at Lemonade Stand. ... Tracy played Hangman with her father, Dr. Philip Pizzo. She said, "Make it hard, but not too hard," as she closed her eyes and her father entered the word "Christmas" for her to guess, each incorrect guess slowly forming a hangman’s noose on the screen.... Asteroids is the only noneducational game offered in the computer room... Computer birthday parties cost $5 a person, with a minimum of eight in a party... As for Tracy Pizzo, as she and her friends filed down the hall to the balloon-festooned party room for ice cream, cake and presents, she pronounced the day "just perfect."   (end quote) In 1981, Atari donated 30 Atari computer systems to the Capital Children's Museum. The contribution allowed the museum to establish the Future Center "computer learning environment", to put computer programs in exhibits, and to create a software development lab. By the way, the Capital Children's Museum still exists — it's now called the National Children's Museum, but there probably aren't any Atari computers around to play with anymore. This interview took place on June 26, 2020. NYT — 8-Year-Old's Birthday Party in a Computer Center: https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/09/style/8-year-old-s-birthday-party-in-a-computer-center.html Picture of Tracey and her friends: https://imgur.com/a/pD7RTF6 National Children's Museum https://nationalchildrensmuseum.org

Alexa speaker mixup; leaving the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP) classroom for the last time; Microsoft Excel Autosum tip; laundry triumph; getting to my new job; crosstown Trek and converting a Microsoft Word Document to a PDF docume

In TLT71 you'll hear a hotspot tip; playing audio using the Logitech K380 BT keyboard; revisiting my tunes; an introduction to JAWS Tandem; and Maria and I reminisce about the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People, CCVIP and the California Pizza Ki

Screen English - We are turning this into a new computer center.

Episode 5 of the Bally Alley Astrocast doesn't cover a game this episode. Chris has left as a co-host, so the review of The Incredible Wizard has been pushed to episode 6. Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 5 and 6 (March and May 1979).  We cover a bit of feedback too. Paul and I discuss eleven letters to the Arcadian, dating mostly from the Spring of 1979. Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Yahoo Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico Introduction/News 280 ZZZap / Dodgem - MAME Bug Report and fix (July 2016). Bally Arcade / Astrocade - Bally BASIC Demo (1978) - Video. Bally BASIC Demo, by Bally Mfg. Corp. - Functional Series - 8K cart - 1978. This cartridge has a small (about 6") chain attached to the top-front. This cartridge was made in limited quantities and only distributed to dealers, as was also done with the Dealer Demo cartridge. The first 4K is a "crippled" version of Bally BASIC that doesn't have access to the keypad or hand controllers- except #3: all the inputs are disabled. The remaining 4K of the cartridge is a program written in BASIC. Bally Arcade / Astrocade - Bally Dealer Demo (1978) - Video. Bally Dealer Demo. Bally Mfg. Corp. Functional Series. #6001. 4K cart. 1978. This cartridge was not sold to the general public and was only produced in limited quantities. The only public sales began in 1983 and came from ABC Hobbycraft (who acquired Astrocade's remaining inventory). The cartridge runs about two minutes and features the "built in" software of the Bally console. Written by Dick Ainsworth. 280 Zzzap / Dodgem Disassembly - A partial Z80 disassembly of 280 Zzzap / Dodgem. This game was released by Bally Mfg. Corp. in 1978. It was programmed by Jay Fenton. Cosmic Raiders Disassembly - A partial Z80 disassembly of Cosmic Raiders. This 8K game, part of the Action/Skills Series released in 1983 by Astrocade Inc., is part #2019. Written by Bob Ogden, Scot L. Norris, Julie Malan, and Lisa Natting. Music from the Bally BASIC Demo cartridge - This music is used as a segue between segments. Astrocade High-Resolution Upgrade - These five in-depth "packages" (documents) were created by Michael C. Matte in 1986. These documents explain how to upgrade a Bally Arcade/Astrocade from the "Consumer Mode," which uses the low-resolution display (160x102 pixels), to "Commercial Mode," which uses the high-resolution mode (320x204 pixels) used in arcade games such as Gorf and Wizard of Wor. Red White and Blue Ram Announcement - Ken Lill's September 12, 2016 formal announcement of the new RAM expansion that he is working on that will be Blue Ram compatible. Bagpipes (For Player Piano) - This music, created in BASIC, is used as a segue between segments. Floppy Days Podcast - Randy Kindig's vintage computing podcast for all types of retrocomputers. 2600 Connection - The online presence of the classic Atari 2600 newsletter 2600 Connection, originally edited by Tim Duarte, that began publishing in 1990. HSC01 Round 11: Galactic Invasion / Outpost 19 - Most-Recent round of the Astrocade High Score Club. Outpost 19 Map - A map for use with WaveMaker's game Outpost 19. MazeMaker II Music - This music, written by by Mike Peace for the WaveMakers' BASIC game MazeMaker II, is used as a segue between segments. This music sounds very similar to the theme for the movie Bladerunner. Astrocade BASIC Screen Layout: 88 x 160 Graph Paper - The archive includes three versions of the graph paper: a jpg, a TIFF image (with layers), and a TIFF (with no layers, "flattened"). To make the best use of the TIFF files requires a graphics editor (such as Photoshop or GIMP) that can deal with layered TIFF files. Mega Everdrive for the Sega Genesis - The Mega EverDrive v2 is a flashcart, which loads the ROMs in the console itself. The handling of the flashcart is very simple. Bruce Lee for Sega Master System - A homebrew game that attempts to recreate the classic Atari800/C64/Spectrum game Bruce Lee for the Master System. Collect the lamps and fight Green Yamo and the Ninja! Programmers of the Bally Arcade/Astrocade Built-in Programs - This is an attempt to credit those people who programmed the four programs built into the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. These programs include: Calculator (Jeff Fredricksen), Checkmate (Lou, or possibly correctly spelled "Low," Harp), Gunfight (Alan McNeil), Scribbling (Jay Fenton), and miscellaneous code (Ken Freund). Frenzy: A ColecoVision adaptation that beats the arcade original - By Chris Federico. The incredible Berzerk sequel is even better on the ColecoVision than in the arcade. Calm down! We wouldn't make such a claim without offering some great arguments, would we? Arcade Games Based Around Astrocade Chipset - By Adam Trionfo. Space Zap Arcade Game (1980 Midway Mfg.) - Video overview and review by "Keith's Arcade." The Adventures of Robby Roto - Thanks to the kind generosity of Jamie Fenton, the original ROM images for Robby Roto have been made available for free, non-commercial use. Wizard of Wor Disassembly - David Turner started the Z80 disassembly of the arcade game Wizard of Wor in 2002. Arcadian Newsletters Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 31-38. - The fifth issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Arcadian 1, no. 6 (May. 4, 1979): 39-46. - The sixth issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Bally BASIC Hacker's Guide - This was the supplement written by Jay Fenton in 1979 that went along with the Bally BASIC manual. It's full of all sorts of goodies, most of which found their way into the AstroBASIC Manual... but not everything. Simon (Bally BASIC) - By Brett Bilbrey and Joe Borello. Bally BASIC, 300-baud program. First program printed in the Arcadian (Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 35,38.) "One Player, Hand Controller. The computer shows you a pattern that you have to repeat, using joystick controls." Simon ("AstroBASIC") - By Brett Bilbrey and Joe Borello. This 2000-Baud version of Simon has been converted by Mike White to run under "AstroBASIC". First program printed in the Arcadian (Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 35,38.) "One Player, Hand Controller. The computer shows you a pattern that you have to repeat, using joystick controls." Clock (Bally BASIC) - By J. Cousins. Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 36. Clock is a 31-line Bally BASIC digital clock program that accepts hours, minutes and seconds. There is some error checking to make sure that the input data is accurate. It seems that FOR loops are used for the timing of the clock, so this program may not be that accurate. Convert Hex To Decimal (Bally BASIC) - By Ernie Sams. Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 36. This program concerts a hex number to decimal using Bally BASIC. Man Vs Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler Official - HD Movie trailer for this 2013 videogame documentary. W&W Software Sales Program - Digitally archived Bally BASIC programs by Bob Weber. Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo ("AstroBASIC") - By Guy McLimore, Jr. April 10, 1979. Hand-written BASIC listing from an unpublished Arcadian submission. This program draws a simple Bally Arcade unit. Fox & Hounds (Bally BASIC) - By Esoterica Ltd. Fox & Hounds is a classic new version of an old game. It's you with 4 pieces against the computer with only one! Move 'checkers style' to prevent the computer from intruding your territory. We guarantee that you will not beat the computer twice in a row. Programming Work Sheets - Page 3 of these worksheets seems to have been created (or inspired) by Chuck Thomka. This worksheet helps a BASIC user use the CX and CY valuables. Random Art (Bally BASIC) - By Ernie Sams. Arcadian 1, no. 6 (May. 4, 1979): 44. Random Art is a quick little moving box program. Arcadian At 2x Size (Bally BASIC) - By Glenn Pogue. Arcadian 1, no. 6 (May. 4, 1979): 45. "A further step along the way was taken by Glenn Pogue, who modified the "Game Over" routine of [Arcadian 1, no. 4 (Feb. 19, 1979): 25], making it print the word Arcadian in 2x normal letter size. I have not been able to totally duplicate this feat, I think it lies in the small differences in ROM locations that have previously been noted." Set I - Games and Fun - Eight programs written by David Stocker in 1979: Building Blox, Cheese Boxes, Color Match, Memory Match, Random, Rock/Paper/Scissors, Siren, and Slot Machine. Set II - Video Art - Fifteen programs written by David Stocker in 1979. This set includes the following video art programs: Building Blox, Color Box, Color War, Color Wheel, Electric Doily, Laser Duel, Perspective Box, Random Box, Random Line, Reverse Box, Rubber Band, Scroll Three, Scroll Two, Spiral, and Video Wallpaper. Classic Letters Tom Woods Letter (February 3, 1979) - February 3, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Tom Woods. The explanation of the "Onboard Calculator" in the March 1979 issue of Arcadian seems to be based on this letter. Bob seems to have expanded on the letter (by writing an example program). George Hale Letter (February 14, 1979) - February 14, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from George Hale. George Hale has used an ohmmeter to trace-out the 50-pin connector on the back of the unit. He has included an illustration of it. He's not sure he's 100% right, but he can see that every pin of the Z80 is present on the 50-pin connector. The Bally PA-1 Service Manual doesn't explicitly give this 50-pin information in an easy-to-read illustrated format (as George created), but the Bally Arcade's schematic does provide the necessary information for the information to be extrapolated. Also, the "third page" of this letter was written later. It is one-page letter to Charles Vollmer, Bally's National Service Manual. George explains that his letter to Bob crossed in the mail with his receiving the Bally Service Manual. He notes that most of the information he figured out is correct, although he numbered his 50-pin connector in reverse order from the one provided in the Service Manual. Boyd Perlson (February 26, 1979) - February 26, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Boyd Perlson. Boyd, who seems to be an accountant, has developed a system on the Bally for keeping track of his chargeable time for each office client. He would like to know how he can make printouts of this, rather than copying the information off of the TV screen. This is just another example of the Bally system being used in situations that I wouldn't have ever expected! James Wilkinson Letter (March 30, 1979) - March 30, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from James Wilkinson. This letter talks about the experience that James had running GAME OVER from the February 1979 issue. He had to substitute line 50, which originally had X=3164, with X=3159. This discrepancy is caused by differences between versions of the Bally Arcade's 8K ROM. Craig Anderson (of Hoover Anderson Research & Design) eventually covers this problem in detail (nearly four years later!) in the January 1983 issue of the Arcadian in an article called Sneak Up and Bite Ya Department. He did this because "AstroBASIC" programs that he would write would work on some versions of the Bally Arcade and not on others. Sneak Up and Bite Ya Department - This is a January 1983 article by Craig Anderson from the Arcadian which discusses the differences between different 8K on-board ROMs in the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Brett Bilbrey Letter (April 10, 1979) - April 10, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Brett Bilbrey. Brett sends corrections for a typing mistake that he made in SIMON (printed in the March 1979 issue). Many people had called Brett directly to find out how to fix the program. Brett had NO idea how they got his phone number, but he figured that it must mean that they're very interested, and he thinks that's good. He expects "many letters" to be coming (to, possibly?, Bob) about this SIMON mistake. Some of the issues that people had were not understanding common computer notation, such as that the asterisk means to use the "times" key, the difference between "O" and "0," and the "not equal" sign. He wants people to write to him, NOT call, as that "ties up" the phone line for his family. Brett tried transferring programs over the phone using his Bally unit, but he doesn't go into details about how he does it. Brett put up flyers in the Computer Center (at, I suppose, the University of Michigan?) to form a Bally user group. The first meeting will be May 12, 1979. This is probably the user group that became the Michigan BUGs (Bally User Group) and eventually called the Michigan AstroBUGS. Brett has included two programs: a SIN subroutine and OTHELLO. He says, "No mistakes, I hope!" Othello was never published in the Arcadian, but it was published fourteen months later in the June 1980 issue of the Cursor newsletter. Brett Bilbrey Letter (April 14, 1979) - April 14, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Brett Bilbrey. Brett sends another correction for SIMON. He makes an odd-sounding, but understandable, statement when he says, "Many people have called in response to these errors. I am now writing to these people to help them with other questions and problems. So, if there had not been the mistakes, I would never have contact all these other Bally users in this area." "Also," Brett says, "many of these people now know of the user's meeting coming up May 12 at the Computer Center. The attendance is expected to be about 50 users." Brett notes that the April issue of BYTE, on page 193, has news called "Magnavox Files Suit on Microprocessor Video Game Patents." Included among the manufacturers they have filed suit against is Bally. As a follow-up to this 1979 news, I came across an 11-page Activision Case Reading by Ralph Baer, called "VIDEOGAME HISTORY: A little matter of record keeping." I am not sure when this was written, but it seems to be possibly from the late-90s or early-2000s. Mr. Baer states: "Let's examine the numerous stories floating around about the various videogame patent infringement lawsuits that were carried on by Magnavox and Sanders Associates, the owners of the seminal Baer patents and of the Baer, Rusch and Harrison patents. Those lawsuits started in the mid-seventies and ran all the way through the 1990's, the last of them for past infringement only, since the patents had long since lapsed. Bally, Seeburg, Mattel, Activision, Nintendo, Data East, Taito and others fought lengthy legal battles against the Magnavox/Sanders team in an effort to avoid having to pay license fees. They lost every one of those lawsuits, both in the initial actions in various Federal District Courts and finally, ignominiously, in the Court of Appeals. Then they had to pay up!" Brett also says, "One of the Arcadians [by which he means a subscriber to the Arcadian newsletter] who called, mentioned an article in a recent STOCK (I don't know the name) which states that Bally will be cutting funding to their home arcade program. This is said to be because of their casino opening in Atlantic City." I checked, and Bally's hotel/casino opened on December 29, 1979. Brett closes his letter with, "I am sorry for the mistakes in SIMON, and hope it did not cause too much trouble! But many users have learned something about debugging and a little about BASIC (sort of a learning experience). I will try to prevent further bugs from happening." Videogame History: A Little Matter of Record Keeping - By Ralph H. Baer John Collins Letter (April 12, 1979) - April 12, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from John Collins. John says, "Many of the stores in our area have not been able to be resupplied with the Bally Arcades and have not been able to get the new tapes [cartridges], even after two months wait." This delay is so bad, in fact, that John asks, "Do you know whether they are still manufacturing the basic unit?" John is working on a version of HANGMAN, BOWLING and a special spelling routine. He'll furnish a copy when the bugs are worked out. Bob was having trouble with John's CHECKERS program (which was eventually printed in the May 1979 issue of the Arcadian), but John didn't know of any glitches. He hoped that Bob might be able to provide what the game board looked like and what level the game was playing when a bug occurred. John explains that the number printed on the screen tells the user that the computer is "still working." The number also provides the "type of decision or level the computer was at when it made its move." John describes in detail what the computer is doing as each number is printed on the screen. John dictated this hand-written letter to his wife, which I found rather surprising. He ends his letter with, "My wife's arm is tired, so I must close now." I found that pretty amusing. Mary Stanke Letter (April 21, 1979) - April 21, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Mary Stanke. After reading Joe Sugarman's SUCCESS FORCES, I recognized Mary's name right away. Joe originally hired her as a secretary, and over the years she continued to move up in the company, eventually coming, it seems, his right hand man (woman?). This short letter informs Bob Fabris that JS&A can not provide him their "list of owners of the Bally, as JS&A has a policy wherein [they] do not divulge this type of information to anyone, nor would [Bob's] material be of interest to [JS&A] since [they] have discontinued offering the Bally Home Library Computer." So, now we know. By April, for certain, JS&A had given-up 100% on Bally! David Stocker Letter (April 23, 1979). - April 23, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from David Stocker. David submits two of his tapes to Bob Fabris. These tapes contain a total of 23 programs. It seems that David took some of the programs from the Bally BASIC manual, changed them up a bit (or a lot-- I don't know) and sold them on tape and as program listings. David would like Bob to inform the "Arcadians" about his programs, which he sells as two sets for two different prices. If you buy one set, then the cost is $8 (or $4 if you return the tape). If you buy both sets, then the cost is $10 (or $6 if you return the tape). This returning of the tapes seems like it would have really complicated matters and been extremely labor intensive. There are three pages of hand-written instructions for some of the programs. Both sets of David Stocker BASIC programs were added to BallyAlley.com on March 13, 2015. Since these were available on tape-- they are some of the earliest third-party programs available on tape for a game console. Mr. Stocker even beat Activision to the punch, so it's too bad this stuff isn't up to say, "Pitfall" quality. The instructions for these two tapes provide the hand-written BASIC listings for each program. This was common even in the early days of the "Arcadian" newsletter. Mr. Stocker's script is quite small (or maybe it was reduced), plus the quality of the original paperwork was also difficult to make out, which makes these programs quite hard to read. The first tape is called "Set I - Games and Fun." It contains eight programs. The second tape is called "Set II - Video Art." It contains fifteen video art programs. John Perkins Letter (April or May 1979) - April or May 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from John Perkins. The Bally Astrocade only has 4K of RAM. This may seem like a plenty of RAM when compared to, say, the Atari 2600 (which only has 128 bytes of RAM), but 4,080 bytes of this 4096 total bytes of RAM is all dedicated to screen RAM. This makes up the entirety of the Astrocade's 102x160 bitmap screen (the remaining 16 bytes of RAM is called the scratch pad). Things begin to get really confusing when you consider that the BASIC cartridge doesn't contain any of its RAM, and yet it somehow (almost magically) it provides the BASIC programmer with 1.8K of RAM to program the system. How is this done? John Perkins wrote a hand-written letter to Bob Fabris which provides some of these answers. This letter is the background and research for which the tutorial in the May 1979 Arcadian called "Screen Operations" by Mr. Perkins is based. The tutorial, as printed, condenses the information that John provided to Bob. The tutorial also excludes a short example program that John wrote that shows how to display four colors on-screen at once. The letter explains how the BASIC program is hidden on the screen in plain sight by taking advantage of some of the Bally Arcade's Left-Right Color Boundary. In the early 2000s, I had a phone conversation with Mike White. I remembered that he said this article explained the details correctly, but that is was a bit muddled with some of its information. I couldn't remember exactly what Mike meant by this, so I emailed him back in February and he provided me with a full explanation. Mike says, "John Perkins declares the program to be "stored in the even bits" with the picture using the odd ones. This is "computer geek" thinking and not what an algebra teacher would say! In algebra the digits are numbered 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8! While in computers it's 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7! Now, turned around to their natural format they become; 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and 7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0 respectively! Therefore, hex 55 (01010101 binary) is EVEN and hex AA (10101010 binary) is odd in a computer ONLY! If you did this on a math test you would flunk out, and may be sent to the principal's office!" Doug Marker Letter (September 1979) - September 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Doug Marker. Doug is a "computer specialist working on IBM compatible machines." It's notable that since this letter was written in 1979, Doug must have been working on IBM compatible mainframe computers, as the IBM personal computer wasn't released until August 12, 1981. Doug started his career as a hardware engineer, advanced to a software engineer and eventually became a Systems Engineer for IBM. This type of in-depth knowledge of hardware and software is a common thread among quite a few letters in the Bob Fabris Collection: many users had technical backgrounds. What sets this letter apart from so many of the other letters is Doug's location: he lives in Auckland, New Zealand! Doug doesn't explain how he came across the Bally Home Library Computer in New Zealand. Perhaps he ordered it directly from JS&A from the original September 1977 ad in Scientific American. What's significant about this letter is that there is no PAL version of the Bally Arcade system. Thus, Doug is using an NTSC system in a PAL territory. This isn't unheard of (many collectors do it today), but it's quite unusual (especially for 1979). Doug says, "I am presently building a PAL modulator so that I can get color. The USA has a different color transmission system called NTSC, so I have to modify my Bally." He talks about working on upgrading his unit's RAM internally to 8K or 16K, but won't work on this until he has the PAL modulator working correctly. Doug has done some exploration on his own of the built-in routines of the 8K system ROM, but he proposes a project that he would find very useful: a list of all of the built-in routines in the "resident ROM and the BASIC ROM." Doug goes into some depth on what he has discovered on his own about how the interrupts works on the Bally Arcade. Doug's final discussion is about changing the speed of his Bally Arcade unit, providing that the custom chips can handle it. [Which I don't think that they can do.] He intends to replace the basic timing of the microcomputer by replacing the master oscillator, which he has to do anyway so that he can get the PAL color working correctly. He plans on replacing the 14.31818 MHz with a 16Mhz crystal oscillator. Comments from Tom Meeks - Tom Meeks worked at Astrovision. Among the questions that he answers in this compilation of comments from the Bally Alley Yahoo Group are if any PAL Astrocade systems exist.  

Just Music  oldies 60s,70s,80s 90s memories    Project Give back Jamaica -Trench Town a Mecca for Greatness Help support the building of an IT/Computer Center in Trench Town JA .. http://maumaushopping.blogspot.ca/ Give back Jamaica -Trench Town Computer Center coming soon . The wonder of people helping people. Pretty soon the children of Trench Town will have a Computer Center. Here   all Youngsters will have access to a computer,get help with home work and  exposure to the world learning.  Help I-cient-Cy mau   just a $1 or any help you can  call in 661-467-2407 caribbeanradioshow@gmail.com  

Project Give back Jamaica -Trench Town a Mecca for Greatness Help support the building of an IT/Computer Center in Trench Town JA .. http://maumaushopping.blogspot.ca/ Give back Jamaica -Trench Town Computer Center coming soon . The wonder of people helping people. Pretty soon the children of Trench Town will have a Computer Center. Here   all Youngsters will have access to a computer,get help with home work and  exposure to the world learning.  Help I-cient-Cy mau   just a $1 or any help you can  call in 661-467-2407 caribbeanradioshow@gmail.com  

Project Give back Jamaica -Trench Town a Mecca for Greatness Help support the building of an IT/Computer Center in Trench Town JA .. http://maumaushopping.blogspot.ca/ Give back Jamaica -Trench Town Computer Center coming soon . The wonder of people helping people. Pretty soon the children of Trench Town will have a Computer Center. Here   all Youngsters will have access to a computer,get help with home work and  exposure to the world learning.  Help I-cient-Cy mau   just a $1 or any help you can  call in 661-467-2407 caribbeanradioshow@gmail.com  

Project Give back Jamaica -Trench Town a Mecca for Greatness Help support the building of an IT/Computer Center in Trench Town JA .. http://maumaushopping.blogspot.ca/ Give back Jamaica -Trench Town Computer Center coming soon . The wonder of people helping people. Pretty soon the children of Trench Town will have a Computer Center. Here   all Youngsters will have access to a computer,get help with home work and  exposure to the world learning.  Help I-cient-Cy mau   just a $1 or any help you can  call in 661-467-2407 caribbeanradioshow@gmail.com  

Project Give back Jamaica -Trench Town a Mecca for Greatness and home of Bob Marley  Help support the building of an IT/Computer Center in Trench Town JA .. http://maumaushopping.blogspot.ca/ Give back Jamaica -Trench Town Computer Center coming soon . The wonder of people helping people. Pretty soon the children of Trench Town will have a Computer Center. Here   all Youngsters will have access to a computer,get help with home work and  exposure to the world learning.  Help I-cient-Cy mau   just a $1 or any help you can  call in 661-467-2407 caribbeanradioshow@gmail.com  

Project Give back Jamaica -Trench Town a Mecca for Greatness Help support the building of an IT/Computer Center in Trench Town JA .. http://maumaushopping.blogspot.ca/ Give back Jamaica -Trench Town Computer Center coming soon . The wonder of people helping people. Pretty soon the children of Trench Town will have a Computer Center. Here   all Youngsters will have access to a computer,get help with home work and  exposure to the world learning.  Help I-cient-Cy mau   just a $1 or any help you can  call in 661-467-2407 caribbeanradioshow@gmail.com  

Baruch College hosts the "Employment and Visual Impairment: Policy & Practice" conference. Karen Gourgey, Director, Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP), moderates the event. The conference is co-sponsored by American International Group (AIG) and Verizon with additional support from the New York Community Trust, the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, and the Allene Reuss Memorial Trust. The event takes place on April 2, 2008, at the Baruch College Vertical Campus, Room 14-220. [Part I -- 69 min.] Opening Remarks Ann Clarkson, Assistant Dean, Continuing and Professional Studies, Baruch College; Barbara Sirois, Director, Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Baruch College; David Birdsell, Dean, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College Plenary Session: Policy & Practice Moderator: Barbara Fife, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College Presenters: Tony Spinelli, former Regional Director, Rehabilitation Services Administration; Arnie Kramer, District Manager, NYC Commission for the Blind & Visually Handicapped District Office; and Aaron Shmueli, Disability Program Navigator Supervisor, Goowill [Part II -- 40 min.] Keynote Address by Gale A. Brewer, NYC Council Member and Chair of the Committee on Technology in Government, introduced by David Birdsell, Dean, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College [Part III -- 68 min.] Matthew Sapolin, Commissioner, NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, presents Access Builder awards to exemplary employers chosen by the Metropolitan Placement Consortium for Visually Impaired Job Seekers Plenary Session: Employee/Manager Relationship Moderators: Barbara Sirois, Director, Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Baruch College; Leah Schanke, Training and Development Specialist, Office of Human Resources, Baruch College. Presenters: Sherry DeFrancesco and Mel Tansman, Westchester Disabled on the Move; R. Brian Watson, JPMorgan Chase; Giovanni Aguirre and Derek Suarez, BPA International

Baruch College hosts the "Employment and Visual Impairment: Policy & Practice" conference. Karen Gourgey, Director, Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP), moderates the event. The conference is co-sponsored by American International Group (AIG) and Verizon with additional support from the New York Community Trust, the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, and the Allene Reuss Memorial Trust. The event takes place on April 2, 2008, at the Baruch College Vertical Campus, Room 14-220. [Part I -- 69 min.] Opening Remarks Ann Clarkson, Assistant Dean, Continuing and Professional Studies, Baruch College; Barbara Sirois, Director, Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Baruch College; David Birdsell, Dean, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College Plenary Session: Policy & Practice Moderator: Barbara Fife, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College Presenters: Tony Spinelli, former Regional Director, Rehabilitation Services Administration; Arnie Kramer, District Manager, NYC Commission for the Blind & Visually Handicapped District Office; and Aaron Shmueli, Disability Program Navigator Supervisor, Goowill [Part II -- 40 min.] Keynote Address by Gale A. Brewer, NYC Council Member and Chair of the Committee on Technology in Government, introduced by David Birdsell, Dean, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College [Part III -- 68 min.] Matthew Sapolin, Commissioner, NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, presents Access Builder awards to exemplary employers chosen by the Metropolitan Placement Consortium for Visually Impaired Job Seekers Plenary Session: Employee/Manager Relationship Moderators: Barbara Sirois, Director, Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Baruch College; Leah Schanke, Training and Development Specialist, Office of Human Resources, Baruch College. Presenters: Sherry DeFrancesco and Mel Tansman, Westchester Disabled on the Move; R. Brian Watson, JPMorgan Chase; Giovanni Aguirre and Derek Suarez, BPA International

Baruch College hosts the 2nd annual Employment and Visual Impairment Conference "Changing Vision, Changing Lives." Karen Gourgey, Director, Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP), moderates the event. The conference is co-sponsored by New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, Johnson & Johnson, and Colgate-Palmolive. The event takes place on April 2, 2009, at the Baruch College Vertical Campus, Room 14-220. [Part I -- 58 min.] Opening Remarks Karen Gourgey, Director, Computer Center for Visually Impaired People, Baruch College; Ann Clarkson, Assistant Dean, Continuing and Professional Studies, Baruch College; David Birdsell, Dean, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College; Brian Daniels, Associate Commissioner, NYS Commission for Blind and Visually Handicapped Keynote Address: "Dare to Succeed" James Kutsch, PhD, President & CEO, Seeing Eye, Inc. [Part II -- 55 min.] Technology - Recent Trends Moderator: Dawn Suvino, VISIONS Presenters: Dr. Aries Arditi, The Lighthouse. Steve Landau, Tactile Kiosk Directory; Pratik Patel, Director, Information Technology Access, City University of New York [Part III -- 45 min.] Lunch & Metropolitan Placement Consortium "Breaking Barriers" Awards & Seiko Karate Demo [Part IV -- 80 min.] Technology - Web Usability Testing Moderator: Sandra Kupprat, Project Director at NYU Presenters: Michael Burks, Accessibility Consultant; Kate Schrauth, Executive Director, icouldbe.org Lynnette Tatum, Senior Instructor, computer Center for Visually Impaired People, Baruch College Comments from the audience moderated by Julie Jansen, Freelance Corporate Consultant and Career Coach and Sandra Kupprat, Project Director at NYU