Podcasts about Atari

Where else are you going to get GTA6, WiFi7, M6, WPA3, RTX 5090 and Atari 2600 coverage all in the same show?  No where else, that's where.  Listen to the dulcet tones of tech whisperers go over the weekly news and so much more.  Hot Chips, SteamOS, Outlook stupidity!  Oh, and Linux turns 35.Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:46 Patreon01:44 Food with Josh04:24 Breaking news - Hot Chips was all about ai11:06 Apple has new silicon and Macs16:20 Linux turns 3517:25 SteamOS 3.9 Main boots on Intel Arc B58018:53 Careful when you upgrade to WiFi 722:55 New Outlook can look more like old Outlook now25:40 How much is that 5090 in the window?29:25 NVIDIA financials35:21 (In)Security Corner51:06 Gaming Quick Hits56:07 Picks of the Week1:08:31 Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Zum 15-jährigen Jubiläum von Stay Forever haben sich Gunnar und Chris ein besonderes Spiel ausgesucht. Also: jeder eines. Denn wie schon vor fünf Jahren beschenken wir uns gegenseitig mit einer Stay-Forever-Folge. Und so hat jeder von uns jeweils ein Spiel gewählt, an das er warme Erinnerungen hat, aber das eigentlich zu unbedeutend für eine SF-Hauptfolge wäre. Dies ist die Folge, die sich Chris gewünscht hat: Alley Cat ist ein frühes Jump&Run für die Atari 400/800-Geräte, das über einen Deal mit IBM für den PCJr. portiert wurde und dann auf den PCs der 80er im Wesentlichen per Raubkopie Verbreitung fand. Der Titel ist ein Solowerk von Bill Willams, dessen tragische Lebensgeschichte auch Thema in der Folge ist.

Steve Bryson, game programmer Steve Bryson was a programmer for EPYX and The Connelley Group, where he ported many games to various 8-bit systems. He ported Dragonriders of Pern, an action/strategy game based on the Anne McCaffrey novels, to Atari and Commodore 64. He ported Jumpman to the Apple II, and Lower Reaches of Apshai, Upper Reaches of Apshai, and Temple of Ra to the C64. This interview took place on August 5, 2026. Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/SdK56W9bd6Y Steve's personal web site: https://www.stevepur.com Randy Glover, Jumpman interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i171/i171-transcript.html Tom Zimmerman, AMY chip interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i431/i431-transcript.html Jon Freeman, Freefall Associates interview: https://www.savetz.com/antic-interviews/transcripts/i070/i070-transcript.html Dragonriders of Pern at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/a8b_Dragonriders_of_Pern_The_1983_Epyx_US Dragonriders of Pern at AtariMania: https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-dragonriders-of-pern_1723.html

Happy Pot Luck Saturday! Chipped beef on toast, scalloped potatoes with the cornflake crunch, Pong, and the Trash-80. We're firing up the home computer and video game boom of the '70s and '80s. We talk Atari, Intellivision, Commodore 64, Apple II, Nintendo, Pac-Man, Pitfall, stacks of quarters at the arcade, and the infamous E.T. game. Plus, why the watered-down games at home made the arcade that much more exciting. We talk about word processors, electric typewriters, scientific calculators, handheld football games, old-school cash registers, and the simple joy of pushing a button and hearing that click. Then it's broken joysticks on Christmas morning, toys without batteries, and the bleak day-after-Christmas return line. It's a Pot Luck Saturday with Trash-80s, Atari cartridges, computer clubs, retro toys, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, and a time when Pong really was enough. We'll Talk Shawtly! Join us at our Canyon Ranch 2026 Retreat: https://www.canyonranch.com/lenox/retreats/heal-retreat-maria-menounos HEAL SQUAD SOCIALS IG: https://www.instagram.com/healsquad/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@healsquadxmaria HEAL SQUAD RESOURCES: Heal Squad Website:https://www.healsquad.com/ Heal Squad x Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HealSquad/membership Maria Menounos Website: https://www.mariamenounos.com My Curated Macy's Page: Shop My Macy's Storefront EMR-Tek Red Light: https://emr-tek.com/discount/Maria30 for 30% off Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/host ABOUT MARIA MENOUNOS: Emmy Award-winning journalist, TV personality, actress, 2x NYT best-selling author, former pro-wrestler and brain tumor survivor, Maria Menounos' passion is to see others heal and to get better in all areas of life. ABOUT HEAL SQUAD x MARIA MENOUNOS: A daily digital talk-show that brings you the world's leading healers, experts, and celebrities to share groundbreaking secrets and tips to getting better in all areas of life. DISCLAIMER: This Podcast and all related content (published or distributed by or on behalf of Maria Menounos or http://Mariamenounos.com and http://healsquad.com) is for informational purposes only and may include information that is general in nature and that is not specific to you. Any information or opinions provided by guest experts or hosts featured within website or on Company's Podcast are their own; not those of Maria Menounos or the Company. Accordingly, Maria Menounos and the Company cannot be responsible for any results or consequences or actions you may take based on such information or opinions. This podcast is presented for exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for preventing, diagnosing, or treating a specific illness. If you have, or suspect you may have, a health-care emergency, please contact a qualified health care professional for treatment.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we complete our series on two entries from the casual space by PopCap. We discuss Peggle before turning to takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: All mainline levels (B), about half (T) Issues covered: crossing over from casual to hardcore, awards contention, describing Peggle and pachinko, the Peggle masters, talking about removal games and Match-3, how someone engages with one of these games typically, a bunch of animals, the manipulation and the presentation, accentuating moments and playing with physics, shorter vs longer games, PopCap in other games, refining and polishing a genre, removing the biomechanical hurdle, tone and identity for design, accentuating moments especially with audio, trailblazing, don't overthink it, really exploring the space, taking out the real Slim Shady. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Bejeweled, Alchemy, Zuma, Arkanoid, BioShock, Portal, Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, God of War II, Mass Effect, Metroid Prime III, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, CoD4: Modern Warfare, Crysis, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, The Witcher, Rock Band, Buddy, Candy Crush, Ridiculous Fishing, Vlambeer, Zach Gage, Spelltower, Spider, Randy Smith, World of Warcraft, Gears of War, Drop 7, Blizzard, Breakout, Atari 2600, Into the Breach, Advance Wars, Psychonauts, Double Fine, Pixar, Supercell, Hitman, Hakan Almer, Martin Ansdal, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: ?? Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp YouTube Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com 

One random night watching a Yankees and Orioles game somehow turned Ben Maller into the executive producer and kingpin of "The Maller Matchmaker: Friend Edition," a completely spontaneous and unnecessary adventure some 2,300-miles away from the People's Republic of California, co-starring Marlins Man and Sports With Coleman. Because when you see Marlins Man behind home plate, naturally the next move is to start meddling in people’s lives. Along the way, Ben plays the adult version of Where’s Waldo?, while Bob Uecker, Don King, Casey Kasem-style “long-distance dedications,” and the Pentagon somehow wander into the story. Sure, why not? Then there’s the important historical investigation nobody requested: What clothing item did President Truman, Elvis Presley, Tom Selleck, and Jimmy Buffett help make popular? We also squeeze in the Atari 2600, Jonestown, and the philosophical dilemma that has tortured mankind for generations: What exactly qualifies as Kool-Aid? It’s Friday’s Fifth Hour — a perfectly normal podcast made by perfectly normal people, unless it's not. Follow, rate & review "The Fifth Hour!" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/grpodcast/the-fifth-hour-with-ben-maller/id1478163837 #BenMallerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LATE SUMMER/EARLY AUTUMN OF ARCADE CONTINUES!! Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank Raw Thrills' Batmobile-based shooter. Then stick around for Starfighter 3000, a 3D aerial combat game for the Acorn Archimedes! This weekend's Patreon Bonus Get episode will be THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE — an Atari 2600 prototype based on a 1950s sci-fi film! Donate at Patreon to get this bonus content and much, much more! Follow the show on Bluesky to get the latest and straightest dope. Check out what games we've already ranked on the Big Damn List, then nominate a game of your own via five-star review on Apple Podcasts! Take a screenshot and show it to us on our Discord server! Intro music by NORM. 2026 © Hardcore Gaming 101, all rights reserved. No portion of this or any other Hardcore Gaming 101 ("HG101") content/data shall be included, referenced, or otherwise used in any model, resource, or collection of data.

Bob Fraser, APX Insomnia, Supersort, De Re Atari   Bob Fraser worked at Atari for four years: he worked on the early CX70 light pen, helped write the specs for an unreleased database manager for the Atari 8-bits. and later moved into Atari's Games Design Research Group under Alan Kay, where he experimented with 3-D graphics. He wrote a chapter of De Re Atari — chapter 7, all about sound — and two applications that were published by Atari Program Exchange: Supersort, a data sorting routine; and Insomnia, a sound editor. Supersort was APX catalog number 20030, and was for sale starting with the first APX catalog, summer 1981. Insomnia was catalog number 20073 and was available about six months later in the winter 1981 catalog. The CX70 light pen: it's rare — according to AtariWiki, it was only offered by Atari for a few months in 1981. After our interview, Bob sent me his: prototype #2. He also sent me a lot of floppy disks (around 70) which I was able to get the data off of. They include many of his 3-D rendering demonstrations, source code for an early version of the Ballsong demo, several early versions of Mike Lorenzen's MEDIT text editor, light pen software, internal development tools, and more. I've put them all online, have fun digging through them. This interview took place on June 10, 2026. Video version of this interview Download Bob's disks, and conversation about them Supersort in the summer 1981 APX catalog Supersort at Atarimania Insomnia in the winter 1981 APX catalog Insomnia at Atarimania  De Re Atari CX70 Light Pen at AtariWiki CX70 discussion at AtariAge Invest like a Billionaire by Bob Fraser Dale Yocum interview Chris Crawford interview Douglas Crockford interview

As the Summer of Games continues on FOX on Games, Week 2 tackles the machines, hardware revolutions, and near-fatal disasters that shaped the industry. We trace the quarter-munching golden age of arcades in the late '70s and '80s, the wood-paneled revolution of the Atari 2600, and the catastrophic 1983 video game crash sparked by rushed titles like E.T. We also explore how Nintendo resurrected the North American market with the NES and the famous "Seal of Quality," kicking off the legendary 16-bit console wars between Nintendo and Sega. In-Episode Links & Resources: Main Podcast Page: https://radio.foxnews.com/podcast/fox-on-games/ Best Place to Start: New to our historical retrospectives? Catch up on our foundational analysis of the gaming landscape here: https://megaphone.link/FOXM9094923257 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jim Hill and Lauren Hersey are packing their bags for Anaheim and previewing what Disney fans can expect from D23 Day and the 2026 D23 Ultimate Fan Event. They dig into Disneyland exclusives, anniversary merchandise, rare character appearances, and some unexpected collectibles hitting the show floor. Along the way, Jim explains the history behind the Disneylandia name, Lauren investigates Disney's growing interest in repurposing park materials, and both try to make sense of Atari's surprising return to the Disney gaming conversation. HIGHLIGHTS • D23 Day at Disneyland brings exclusive merchandise, commemorative ears, a character cavalcade, and rare appearances by Merlin and the Blue Fairy. • The Disneylandia collection revives a name with roots in one of Walt Disney's earliest pre-Disneyland concepts. • Hunchback of Notre Dame and Alice in Wonderland anniversary merchandise join a packed lineup of D23 collectibles. • Atari arrives at D23 with new Toy Story releases, retro Disney games, and an exclusive convention pin. • Harveys turns retired Soarin' Over California seat belts into collectible bags as Jim and Lauren explore Disney's history of repurposing park materials. HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia | Instagram: @JimHillMedia | jimhillmedia.com • Lauren Hersey - X/Twitter: @laurenhersey2 | Instagram: @lauren_hersey_ FOLLOW • Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews • YouTube: @jimhillmedia • TikTok: @jimhillmedia • Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia/ SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR Planning a Disney vacation can get complicated in a hurry. The experienced team at BeOurGuestVacations.com can help plan your Disney vacation, Universal vacation, cruise, or next big adventure without the stress of handling every detail yourself. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another funny podcast episode of The Rizzuto Show, where technology is terrifying, nostalgia is apparently worth millions, and the financial advice remains extremely simple: go back to 1988 and tell your parents to buy two copies of everything.We kick things off with Spotify's new push to identify AI-generated music and AI personas, which immediately creates a problem nobody on the show particularly enjoys: some of this fake music is annoyingly good. The crew gets into AI covers, suspiciously talented digital musicians, the increasingly exhausting game of asking “is this real?” every time something shows up online, and why artificial intelligence apparently figured out how to make a blues record before most of us figured out what we're doing with our lives.Then it's time for some serious Nintendo nostalgia. A stash of 100 unopened Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt cartridges has surfaced, with experts suggesting the collection could potentially bring enormous money at auction. That sends everybody spiraling back to childhood: Nintendo, Atari, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, coordinating Christmas presents with friends, blowing into cartridges like tiny electronics technicians, and the devastating realization that every toy we destroyed was apparently supposed to be our retirement portfolio.Naturally, nobody told us.From there, Crap on Celebrities brings another avalanche of entertainment gossip and pop culture commentary. 311 is headed back to St. Louis, Morrissey is canceling shows again, and Travis Barker has some very specific advice for son Landon Barker about appearing on The Voice. That turns into a perfectly reasonable discussion about artistic credibility, reality television, nepotism, and whether marrying into the Kardashian universe technically makes everybody a contestant.Eddie Vedder reveals the Martin Short joke that helped him quit smoking, Death Cab for Cutie hits Tiny Desk, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is exploring even more music because apparently movies, wrestling, tequila, skincare and being one of the most recognizable humans alive were not enough extracurricular activities.Celebrity news keeps rolling with Taylor Swift's Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame honor, pet drama, horror-movie controversy, Jenna Ortega discussion, and one of Hollywood's greatest alternate-universe casting decisions: Kevin Costner passing on The Shawshank Redemption to make Waterworld. Somewhere, a fish-man with gills just whispered, “worth it.”The crew debates whether Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise could have worked as Andy Dufresne, revisits Waterworld, celebrates some birthdays, and eventually arrives at the important local journalism this community deserves: Steve Ewing's birthday means a special deal at Steve's Hot Dogs for people named Steve, Stephen or Stephanie. Stefans, apparently, can kick rocks.Then Rafe unveils the Riz Quiz: rapid-fire questions, 45 seconds on the clock, one wrong answer and you're done. Nothing exposes the human brain quite like asking it to recall basic information while everybody on a morning radio show waits for it to fail.It's AI anxiety, retro gaming, celebrity fails, St. Louis nonsense, music news, movie arguments and hot-dog-based discrimination packed into one funny podcast. Basically, another completely normal morning with Rizz and the gang.Listen to the full funny podcast episode and find out why the future may belong to artificial intelligence, but the real winners are apparently the people who refused to open their Nintendo games.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShow.Hear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember, the Force will be with you, always. The vector series continues with one of the best arcades to ever do it - Atari's Star Wars. What very Star Trek name did Star Wars originally go by before Atari gained the license from Lucasfilm? How did a focus group give us one of the top arcade grails ever? Did we discover a hidden and somewhat obscene new arcade cabinet format? How many parcels make up a parsec? Ready we are to answer questions like what is our "white whale" of a game, do we pause for refreshments when recording an episode, and which of the three of us are responsible for the most edits? Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post content like the new Rankdouken episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.

This week on ARG Presents it's Joke Games That Became Popular! Join Amigo Aaron and THE BRENT as we stroll down a silly path and take a look at Elf Bowling and the ZX Spectrum compilation OF DOOM known as "Don't Buy This!". If you enjoy ARG Presents content, make sure to hit LIKE

Sorg and Dave Podnar are back for another AwesomeCast packed with Pittsburgh tech, gaming, streaming, photography, AI, retro media, and a surprisingly practical app for finding a bathroom when you really need one. The episode starts locally with Dave highlighting Stormfreak, a Pittsburgh-area weather enthusiast who has built a following on Reddit by offering practical, level-headed forecasts without the sensationalism that often accompanies severe weather coverage. That leads into a bigger conversation about how Reddit, YouTube, and independent creators increasingly fill information gaps once occupied by traditional specialty television. Sorg then takes a trip back to the video-store era with Binge Buster, a web experience that lets users browse movies available on their existing streaming subscriptions in an interface inspired by wandering through the shelves of a physical rental store. Gaming takes over a large part of the conversation, including EA going private in a massive Saudi-backed deal, Netflix getting an extended GTA 6 preview, Atari showing signs of financial improvement, the possibility of accessing Xbox and PC Game Pass titles on Linux and Mac through the XODUS project, new content for the original Quake, and Sorg's experience comparing Xbox cloud gaming with NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Then things get weird in the best possible way: Diablo is heading to amusement-park Halloween events, while a permanent Freddy Fazbear's Pizza experience complete with animatronics is planned for American Dream. Dave also shares his latest experience with Adobe Project Indigo, including computational photography, AI photo critiques, and the increasingly blurry line between traditional editing and generative AI. The episode wraps with two ideas that bring physical experiences back into a digital world: Pittsburgh's Lost Lizard renting VHS, DVD, and even Betamax tapes, and Nature Calls Run, an upcoming crowdsourced app designed to help runners, cyclists, travelers, and people with medical needs locate bathrooms, water, and other resources. Stories, Gadgets & Topics Discussed 300–600mm iPhone zoom lens — Dave points listeners toward iPhonography Podcast co-host Greg McMillan's detailed look at an enormous telephoto solution for iPhone photography. Stormfreak and Pittsburgh weather on Reddit — Dave highlights the local forecaster's calm, practical approach to Pittsburgh weather and the community that has formed around his posts. They discuss how independent online weather coverage can sometimes be more useful than national television coverage when people need highly local information. The changing role of specialty media — Sorg and Dave compare today's creator-driven information sources with the original promise of channels like The Weather Channel, Discovery, TLC, and Food Network. Binge Buster — Sorg tries a streaming discovery site that recreates some of the experience of browsing a video store. Users select the streaming services they already subscribe to and browse movies through virtual box art, descriptions, genres, trailers, staff picks, and more. https://bingebuster.net/ Awesome Person of the Week: Lewis Latimer — Dave profiles the inventor, draftsman, engineer, and patent expert whose work intersected with both Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent and the development of more durable electric-light filaments. Slice on Broadway pizza sauce — Dave discovers jars of Slice on Broadway's original pizza sauce while shopping at Labriola's Italian Market. EA goes private — Chachi's Video Game Minute covers EA completing its reported $55 billion sale to a Saudi-backed buyer and what private ownership might mean for the future of EA's games and monetization. Netflix and GTA 6 — Netflix is set to feature an extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI on August 27, prompting discussion about whether GTA really needs any additional publicity. Atari's financial comeback — Atari reports its strongest annual revenue in roughly a decade, giving Sorg and Dave an opportunity to talk about the strange history of the Atari name, its changing ownership, and the collection of gaming properties associated with it over the years. Xbox games potentially coming to Linux and Mac through XODUS — Sorg discusses an open-source reverse-engineering project designed to make compatible Xbox and PC titles accessible beyond Windows, including the possibility of accessing portions of a user's existing Microsoft gaming library. Xbox backward compatibility — The conversation touches on original Xbox and Xbox 360 games potentially becoming increasingly accessible through Microsoft's PC ecosystem. New Quake content decades later — Quake continues receiving new content around its 30th anniversary, giving players another reason to revisit the classic first-person shooter. NVIDIA GeForce NOW vs. Xbox cloud gaming — Sorg compares his experience streaming games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Forza Horizon, finding GeForce NOW's higher-end hardware particularly impressive for demanding, fast-moving games. Do you still need a gaming PC? — Cloud gaming raises a bigger question: if a service already supports hundreds of games in your library and provides continuously upgraded hardware, does spending thousands on a dedicated gaming PC still make sense? Diablo invades Cedar Point and Six Flags — Blizzard's Diablo becomes part of the Halloween amusement-park experience, leading to a conversation about licensed haunted attractions and the changing amusement-park industry. Cedar Fair/Six Flags consolidation and disappearing amusement parks — Dave looks back at the history of older amusement parks, including Pittsburgh-area memories of White Swan Park and the larger trend of parks disappearing as land was redeveloped. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza becomes real — A permanent Freddy Fazbear's Pizza experience featuring animatronic stage shows is planned for American Dream in 2027. Naturally, Sorg and Dave wonder whether anybody involved has actually learned the lesson of Five Nights at Freddy's. American Dream as the modern destination mall — The conversation expands into how malls are evolving from shopping centers into entertainment destinations with theme parks, water parks, skiing, restaurants, attractions, wrestling events, and other experiences. Adobe Project Indigo — Dave continues experimenting with Adobe's computational photography app, particularly challenging lighting situations and shooting directly toward a sunset. AI-powered photography reviews — Project Indigo can analyze a photo and provide feedback, giving photographers another way to evaluate composition and possible improvements. When an AI edit becomes a different photograph — Dave demonstrates an AI edit that substantially changes clouds and the sky, prompting an important conversation about the difference between enhancing a photograph and generating new visual information. AI quietly becoming another editing tool — Sorg shares his experience using AI to quickly create client graphics and discusses how generative tools increasingly feel less like a separate novelty and more like another part of a production workflow. Lost Lizard brings video rentals back to Pittsburgh — A Lawrenceville business is renting VHS tapes, DVDs, Betamax tapes, and even retro video games. The concept triggers plenty of nostalgia for independent video stores and their wonderfully strange horror collections. Physical media versus digital ownership — Reports of purchased digital movies disappearing from user libraries lead to a larger discussion about what consumers actually own when they "buy" a digital movie. Movies Anywhere and fragmented digital libraries — Sorg discusses the usefulness of synchronizing eligible purchases across services while acknowledging that licensing can still make digital ownership complicated. Maybe it's time to buy DVDs again — The uncertainty of digital licenses gives physical media another unexpected advantage: nobody can remotely remove a disc from your shelf. Nature Calls Run — An upcoming Pittsburgh-created app will crowdsource public restrooms, water sources, and other useful resources for runners, cyclists, travelers, parents, and anyone suddenly asking the most important question of the day: "Where can I go?" https://naturecallsapp.com/ Restroom access as an accessibility and medical issue — The app also plans to educate users about restroom-access laws affecting people with conditions including Crohn's disease and IBS. GCXC running events — Dave also discusses upcoming Pittsburgh-area races and the community surrounding GCXC events. https://gcxc.com/events-pa Support AwesomeCast: https://www.patreon.com/awesomecast

Sorg and Dave Podnar are back for another AwesomeCast packed with Pittsburgh tech, gaming, streaming, photography, AI, retro media, and a surprisingly practical app for finding a bathroom when you really need one. The episode starts locally with Dave highlighting Stormfreak, a Pittsburgh-area weather enthusiast who has built a following on Reddit by offering practical, level-headed forecasts without the sensationalism that often accompanies severe weather coverage. That leads into a bigger conversation about how Reddit, YouTube, and independent creators increasingly fill information gaps once occupied by traditional specialty television. Sorg then takes a trip back to the video-store era with Binge Buster, a web experience that lets users browse movies available on their existing streaming subscriptions in an interface inspired by wandering through the shelves of a physical rental store. Gaming takes over a large part of the conversation, including EA going private in a massive Saudi-backed deal, Netflix getting an extended GTA 6 preview, Atari showing signs of financial improvement, the possibility of accessing Xbox and PC Game Pass titles on Linux and Mac through the XODUS project, new content for the original Quake, and Sorg's experience comparing Xbox cloud gaming with NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Then things get weird in the best possible way: Diablo is heading to amusement-park Halloween events, while a permanent Freddy Fazbear's Pizza experience complete with animatronics is planned for American Dream. Dave also shares his latest experience with Adobe Project Indigo, including computational photography, AI photo critiques, and the increasingly blurry line between traditional editing and generative AI. The episode wraps with two ideas that bring physical experiences back into a digital world: Pittsburgh's Lost Lizard renting VHS, DVD, and even Betamax tapes, and Nature Calls Run, an upcoming crowdsourced app designed to help runners, cyclists, travelers, and people with medical needs locate bathrooms, water, and other resources. Stories, Gadgets & Topics Discussed 300–600mm iPhone zoom lens — Dave points listeners toward iPhonography Podcast co-host Greg McMillan's detailed look at an enormous telephoto solution for iPhone photography. Stormfreak and Pittsburgh weather on Reddit — Dave highlights the local forecaster's calm, practical approach to Pittsburgh weather and the community that has formed around his posts. They discuss how independent online weather coverage can sometimes be more useful than national television coverage when people need highly local information. The changing role of specialty media — Sorg and Dave compare today's creator-driven information sources with the original promise of channels like The Weather Channel, Discovery, TLC, and Food Network. Binge Buster — Sorg tries a streaming discovery site that recreates some of the experience of browsing a video store. Users select the streaming services they already subscribe to and browse movies through virtual box art, descriptions, genres, trailers, staff picks, and more. https://bingebuster.net/ Awesome Person of the Week: Lewis Latimer — Dave profiles the inventor, draftsman, engineer, and patent expert whose work intersected with both Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent and the development of more durable electric-light filaments. Slice on Broadway pizza sauce — Dave discovers jars of Slice on Broadway's original pizza sauce while shopping at Labriola's Italian Market. EA goes private — Chachi's Video Game Minute covers EA completing its reported $55 billion sale to a Saudi-backed buyer and what private ownership might mean for the future of EA's games and monetization. Netflix and GTA 6 — Netflix is set to feature an extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI on August 27, prompting discussion about whether GTA really needs any additional publicity. Atari's financial comeback — Atari reports its strongest annual revenue in roughly a decade, giving Sorg and Dave an opportunity to talk about the strange history of the Atari name, its changing ownership, and the collection of gaming properties associated with it over the years. Xbox games potentially coming to Linux and Mac through XODUS — Sorg discusses an open-source reverse-engineering project designed to make compatible Xbox and PC titles accessible beyond Windows, including the possibility of accessing portions of a user's existing Microsoft gaming library. Xbox backward compatibility — The conversation touches on original Xbox and Xbox 360 games potentially becoming increasingly accessible through Microsoft's PC ecosystem. New Quake content decades later — Quake continues receiving new content around its 30th anniversary, giving players another reason to revisit the classic first-person shooter. NVIDIA GeForce NOW vs. Xbox cloud gaming — Sorg compares his experience streaming games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Forza Horizon, finding GeForce NOW's higher-end hardware particularly impressive for demanding, fast-moving games. Do you still need a gaming PC? — Cloud gaming raises a bigger question: if a service already supports hundreds of games in your library and provides continuously upgraded hardware, does spending thousands on a dedicated gaming PC still make sense? Diablo invades Cedar Point and Six Flags — Blizzard's Diablo becomes part of the Halloween amusement-park experience, leading to a conversation about licensed haunted attractions and the changing amusement-park industry. Cedar Fair/Six Flags consolidation and disappearing amusement parks — Dave looks back at the history of older amusement parks, including Pittsburgh-area memories of White Swan Park and the larger trend of parks disappearing as land was redeveloped. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza becomes real — A permanent Freddy Fazbear's Pizza experience featuring animatronic stage shows is planned for American Dream in 2027. Naturally, Sorg and Dave wonder whether anybody involved has actually learned the lesson of Five Nights at Freddy's. American Dream as the modern destination mall — The conversation expands into how malls are evolving from shopping centers into entertainment destinations with theme parks, water parks, skiing, restaurants, attractions, wrestling events, and other experiences. Adobe Project Indigo — Dave continues experimenting with Adobe's computational photography app, particularly challenging lighting situations and shooting directly toward a sunset. AI-powered photography reviews — Project Indigo can analyze a photo and provide feedback, giving photographers another way to evaluate composition and possible improvements. When an AI edit becomes a different photograph — Dave demonstrates an AI edit that substantially changes clouds and the sky, prompting an important conversation about the difference between enhancing a photograph and generating new visual information. AI quietly becoming another editing tool — Sorg shares his experience using AI to quickly create client graphics and discusses how generative tools increasingly feel less like a separate novelty and more like another part of a production workflow. Lost Lizard brings video rentals back to Pittsburgh — A Lawrenceville business is renting VHS tapes, DVDs, Betamax tapes, and even retro video games. The concept triggers plenty of nostalgia for independent video stores and their wonderfully strange horror collections. Physical media versus digital ownership — Reports of purchased digital movies disappearing from user libraries lead to a larger discussion about what consumers actually own when they "buy" a digital movie. Movies Anywhere and fragmented digital libraries — Sorg discusses the usefulness of synchronizing eligible purchases across services while acknowledging that licensing can still make digital ownership complicated. Maybe it's time to buy DVDs again — The uncertainty of digital licenses gives physical media another unexpected advantage: nobody can remotely remove a disc from your shelf. Nature Calls Run — An upcoming Pittsburgh-created app will crowdsource public restrooms, water sources, and other useful resources for runners, cyclists, travelers, parents, and anyone suddenly asking the most important question of the day: "Where can I go?" https://naturecallsapp.com/ Restroom access as an accessibility and medical issue — The app also plans to educate users about restroom-access laws affecting people with conditions including Crohn's disease and IBS. GCXC running events — Dave also discusses upcoming Pittsburgh-area races and the community surrounding GCXC events. https://gcxc.com/events-pa Support AwesomeCast: https://www.patreon.com/awesomecast

Panelists: Paul Hagstrom (hosting), Quinn Dunki, and Kay Savetz Topic: 1990 1990 saw a decline of various personal computer magazines, as well as the introduction of the Video Toaster. Apple started misting the market with computer variants. Topic/Feedback links: RCR episode 90 Macintosh LC  Macintosh Classic  Macintosh IIfx  Macintosh IIsi Computer mags in 1990 were an interesting mix of modern and dying (Compute's Gazette, BBC Acorn, Atari Explorer, the last issue of Antic) and MSX which was both. MiniDisc  (actually 1992) MiniDisc.wiki (home of Web MiniDisc Pro) MZ-RH1 MiniDisc player/recorder with USB data export support Photoshop 1.0  Video Toaster Retro Computing News: Interim Computer Museum Intellivision: How a videogame battled Atari and almost bankrupted Barbie Adventures in Videoland Adventures in Videoland playthrough 2-XL Vintage Computer/discussion-related commercials: MiniDisc system infomercial Minute Rice Family Computing magazine  2-XL by Mego Keeping up with the Commodore Super Breakout Various 1980s ads (The Clapper) Lotus 123 Retro Computing Gift Idea: PBTfans 1984 R2 keycaps See also: Big Mac at CHM Auction Picks: Paul: CORE remote CL 9 (company) Celadon PIC-100 (rebranded CORE, post CL 9) MagicLink PIC-1000 (no relation, but had IR remote capability) Oric-1 Oric-1 (Wikipedia) Pravetz 8D (Oric-1 clone) Elizabethan typing Sargon II MC-10 Chaos the software Three tiny Apple programs Lisa floppies Closing notes: Kay’s 2025 Wrapped Softalk for the IBM PC Enter magazine (at time of recording) Teaching and Computers Other ways to experience this episode: a2stream file for this episode: http://lo-fi.rcrpodcast.com/rcr290.a2stream YouTube episode 290 Feedback/Discussion: feedback@rcrpodcast.com rcrpodcast@podcast.social on Mastodon rcrpodcast.com on bluesky Vintage Computer Forum RCR Podcast on Facebook Intro / Closing Song: Back to Oz by John X Listen/Download:

Brad and Will reconvene this week to talk about their recent adventures in the real world. Brad returns from the Vintage Computer Festival West once again with a recap of this year's highlights, including projects to resurrect everything from classic America Online to obscure software distribution kiosks from 1980s Japan, panels with some fun details about things like the creation of Ethernet and programming heroics on the Atari 2600, plus some Quake deathmatch against today's youth. And Will returns from Los Angeles to talk about object show meetups and the latest from Disneyland, such as high-tech face projection mapping, why the Lightning Lane isn't so Lightning anymore, the joy of trackless dark rides, and more. Notes and links for this episode: https://tinyurl.com/techpod-351-vcfw-disney Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

An airhacks.fm conversation with Donald Raab about: the Epson HX-20 as the world's first laptop and learning Basic, an acoustic coupler modem, the Atari 2600 and Pitfall, Montezuma's Revenge, Apple II clones and the Franklin Ace, running a bulletin board system, learning BASIC, Pascal, fortran, COBOL, Turbo prolog and Turbo Pascal, dBASE III Plus as language and database management system, DBF file format by Ashton-Tate, Clipper by Nantucket as a dBASE compiler with Blinker linker, T-Browse and cursor-based table access, FoxPro and the x-based language family, NDX/NTX/CDX index formats, SQLJ embedded SQL, Paradox and Delphi, learning Smalltalk at IBM Object Technology University, Alan Kay and pure object orientation, blocks as lambdas in Smalltalk and Clipper (via the Classy library), ENVY version control with method-level editions, VisualAge for Smalltalk and VisualAge for Java, method categories for organizing methods, migrating a Clipper application to Java using interfaces and static methods in a procedural style, transparent persistence with TopLink and EclipseLink, memory constraints in 32-bit Java on Solaris, building a custom caching framework, the origins of Eclipse Collections in 2004, waiting ten years for lambdas, the JSR 335 expert group with Brian Goetz, select/collect/inject versus filter/map/reduce, eager methods on collections versus lazy streams, code folding regions in IntelliJ to simulate method categories, the book "Eclipse Collections Categorically", JRuby and Asciidoctor, meeting Yukihiro Matsumoto at OOPSLA 2002 Donald Raab on twitter: @TheDonRaab

We take a retrospective journey through the historical milestones that built the video game industry. From Atari's Pong accidentally launching the arcade boom to Nintendo saving its American division with Shigeru Miyamoto's Donkey Kong, we explore how these foundational hits changed entertainment forever. We also examine Toru Iwatani's pizza-inspired Pac-Man, Alexey Pajitnov crossing the Iron Curtain with Tetris, and how Super Mario Bros. defined the home console experience. In-Episode Links & Resources: Main Podcast Page: https://radio.foxnews.com/podcast/fox-on-games/ Best Place to Start: New to our historical retrospectives? Catch up on our foundational analysis of the gaming landscape here: https://megaphone.link/FOXM9094923257 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am trying something a little different with this episode. I am heading back to 1977 to take a look at the original titles for the Atari VCS. I have been a lifelong Atari fan and collector and while my top games are not from the first year of the console, I am very much intrigued by the idea of a time when the console only had 9 titles. It would take me a while, but eventually I would get to collect ‘em all. Support the Retroist on Patreon On the show, I start off by talking about this time in Atari's history and how I have loved the start of any product line. Variety is great, but a small checklist is very satisfying. In addition to the original games, I talk about Sears, cartridge technology, the art and artists, and the original cast of programmers who made these first few games. These trailblazers would all go onto other things. Its is amazing that Star Wars and the VCS landed in 1977. Two things among many that helped to define a lot of childhoods. This episode helped to remind me why I really loved early Atari games. I sat down to play them and tried to put myself into 1977. Other consoles had been trying to do what Atari was doing, but the Atari VCS with its joysticks and paddles feels so much more intuitive. The color, graphics, and sound might have been simple, but it showed what the future was going to be like. Games would grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years, but most of these games remained very playable.

Domark and Vektor Grafix's 1988 Amiga port of Star Wars converts Atari's legendary vector arcade coin-op into fluid raster graphics with digitised sound samples and mouse-controlled precision.

Domark and Vektor Grafix's 1988 Amiga port of Star Wars converts Atari's legendary vector arcade coin-op into fluid raster graphics with digitised sound samples and mouse-controlled precision.

Russia has again attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles, killing at least one person and injuring more than 20. Earlier President Zelensky shared video on social media of a drone hunting down a man in the southern city of Kherson, saying it showed an instance of a "safari" attack against civilians. Also: while diplomatic efforts continue to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, an Indian merchant ship is sunk in the Red Sea after being hit by a projectile. Conservationists in Kenya cast doubt on official explanations that 15 dead elephants were accidentally poisoned by farmers' pesticides. The US revokes the visa of Brazil's ambassador to Washington as diplomatic tensions between the two countries escalate. A group of British teenage girls who say they experience extreme misogyny at school have sent a campaign film to the British Prime Minister calling for change. Gianni Infantino has summoned FIFA's senior leaders to a meeting in Morocco on Wednesday. And reviving old franchises puts the video game developer Atari back in profit after more than a decade in the doldrums.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk Photo: Smoke rises in Kyiv during a Russian missile strike on August 1st. Credit: Reuters

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a short mini-series on casual games, beginning with PopCap's Plants vs Zombies. We spend a lot of time setting these lower-challenge games both in their time and against other genres before talking a bit about the game itself. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through 2-1 Issues covered: setting the game in 2009, PopCap's fortunes, repackaging a genre, puzzly games in Java, appealing to core games and casual, being good at rewards, walled gardens, starting on desktops and moving to phones, phone fragmentation, A/B design testing, hidden objects, translating well to mobile, the history of EA's acquisitions, the early tower defense games, coining the term, automated elements, the stress of the RTS, MOBAs, removing the dev hurdles from a genre, modders doing something they could do, autochess, recognizing it, a simple concept that reads quickly, the impenetrable defense, turtling: the video game, the way zombie movies build, design ideas can come from anywhere, easily visualizing new things, archetypes, easily reading how much health is left, having a moment of joy in a reveal, seeing the zombie affordances, locking into strategies. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, Demons's Souls, Ratchet & Clank, Brutal Legend, Assassin's Creed II/series, Borderlands, Infamous, Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Bayonetta, PS3/Xbox 360/Wii, EA, Peggle (series), Bejewelled, Blizzard, Zuma, Alchemy, Drop 7, Threes, Diner Dash, Resident Evil 4, Fortnite, Facebook, Farmville, Zynga, Kongregate, Ultima, Westwood, Bioware, Mass Effect, Crystal Dynamics, Morgan Gray, Desktop Defense, Atari, Rampart, Defense of the Agents, Warcraft III, Starcraft, League of Legends, Riot, Valve, George Fan, Diablo, PixelJunk Monsters, Orcs Must Die!!, Vermintide, Tower of Goo, The Birds, Tippi Hedren, Portal, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: More PvZ Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp YouTube Discord DevGameClub@gmail.com 

Featuring: Oct 2026 Solicits, Action Comics 1100, X-Men: Hellfire Murder, Godzilla vs San Diego, Terminal, Solomon Kane, Flash Gordon: Girl From Infinity, Avatar Aang, TMNT 300, Dread the Hall H Weekly Reviews: DC Dark Knights of Steel Special: Heir to the Sea 1 by Tom Taylor, Riccardo Federici, Arif Prianto Action Comics 1100 by: Mark Waid, Skylar Patridge, Ryan Sook, Ivan Plascencia Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, Alejandro Sanchez Sophie Campbell, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain Dan Slott, Lucas Meyer, Giuliano Peratelli Marvel Gambit: Wanted 1 by Chris Claremont, Robert Gill, Bryan Valenza Godzilla Conquers the Multiverse 1 by Gerry Duggan, Javier Garron, David Curiel X-Men: The Hellfire Murder 1 by Saladin Ahmed, Joelle Jones, Gail Simone, Luciano Vecchio, Erica Schultz, Aaron Kuder, Jed MacKay, Tony Daniel, Mark Morales, Eve Ewing, Federica Mancin, Cory Smith, Oren Junior, Fer Sifuentes-Sujo Marvel Unlimited Infinity Comics: Alien: The Friendliest Facehugger 11 & 12 by Jason Loo, Goodman Yamada Marvel Meow 38 by Nao Fuji Dark Horse Dungeons and Dragons: Total Party Killers 1 by Christopher Hastings, Denis Medri, Dan Jackson Giant Roboy Hellboy Returns 1 by Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo, Dave Stewart IDW Godzilla vs. America: Godzilla vs. San Diego 1 by Stan Sakai, Emi Fuji Greg and Fake Dan Jurgens, Margeaux Pepoy, Jason Millet Star Trek: Red Shirts – Ghost of the 21st Century 1 by Gerry Duggan, Scott Buoncristiano, Charlie Kirchoff TMNT 300 by Gene Luen Yang, Freddie E. Williams II, Andrew Dalhouse Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Chris Allan, Eric Talbot, Frank Fosco, Ben Bates, Jim Lawson, Dan Duncan, Luis Antonio Delgado, Ronda Pattison Image Dread the Hall H 2026 by Jordan Hart, Chris Ryall, Luana Vecchio, Charles Wilson III, Marianna Ignazzi, Tom Williams Giant-Size Youngblood 1 by Rob Liefeld, Chance Wolf, Juan Manuel Rodriguez Terminal 1 by Robert Kirkman, Joe Casey, Andy Kubert, Dave McCaig Titan Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant 1 by Patrick Zircher OGN Countdown Grit by Brian Wickman, Kevin Castaniero, Simon Gough Pia in the Forest by David Bruggink Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu – Danger in the Dark 1 by Delilah Dawson, Mario Del Pennino, Arianna Florean, Gaia de Bernardini Stitch head: The Pirate's Eye by Guy Bass, Pete Williamson World Enders by James Patrick, Nicola Izzo Nothing Can Stop… the Ape by Tom Sniegoski, Craig Rousseau, Tom Gaadt, Acheson Travis Daventhorpe Gets a Life by Wes Molebash Penelope's Escape From the Platypusary by Arianna Irwin, Prenzy Flash Gordon: The Girl From Infinity Vol 2 by Marguerite Bennett, Bev Johnson TV My Adventures With Superman 3.7 X-Men '97 2.6 Movies Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Additional Reviews: Black House by Peter Straub and Stephen King Disenchantment Justice League: Cheshire and Cheetah Rob the Watch Tower Eisners 2026 News: RoboCop TV show, Stillwater series, new Scott Pilgrim one-shot, Pong movie in development along with other Atari properties, entire third Avatar series to drop on 07 October, Dark Horse picks up Barbie license, Blade Runner 2099, Stranger Things prequel OGN (The Last Shadow), Venom series by Soule, Indiana Jones comic from Marvel, Predator vs. Punisher, Snyder/Fraction to release original comic on Batman Day (Batman of Two Worlds), TMNT: Last Ronin III, Vixen and Static series, Shadow of the Bat series, new TMNT creative team, Paramount/WB merger delayed, new Mary Jane miniseries, ongoing Steel series by Morgan Hampton, Absolute Cheetah and Absolute Cyborg revealed, Absolute Black Canary one shot, Beyond Ark M one-shot, third Event Horizon series on the way, Ryan Gosling is Ghost Rider, T'Challa Jr. cast, Omninews Trailers: Clayface, It Ends, Coyote vs. Acme, Resident Evil, Avatar: Seven Havens, Ebenezer, Lanterns, Matchbox, Carrie, Blade Runner 2099 Comics Countdown (22 July 2026): Absolute Wonder Woman 22 by Kelly Thompson, Dillon Snook, Jordie Bellaire Absolute Superman 21 by Jason Aaron, Zander Cannon, Rafa Sandoval, Ulises Arreola Superman 40 by Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Alejandro Sanchez Dog Tag 3 by Mark Russell, PJ Holden, JP Jordan Flash 35 by Ryan North, Gavin Guidry, Adriano Lucas Odin 3 by James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Letizia Cadonici, Jordie Bellaire Action Comics 1100 Swamp Thing 1989 4 by Rick Veitch, Tom Mandrake, Trish Mulvihill Narco 5 by Doug Wagner, Daniel Hillyard, Dave Stewart Godzilla vs. America: Godzilla vs. San Diego 1  

Sure, there's a lot of anger in our ecosystem right now, but what about all that's upcoming, all that could potentially change our moods? For instance, God of War: Laufey has received a February '27 release date, while compelling rumors indicate Naughty Dog's long-awaited Intergalactic may also grace PlayStation 5 in 2027. With Arc System Works promising tons of fixes for Marvel Tokon (especially on PC) in time for its imminent launch, and with Wolverine just around the corner -- not to mention a ton of third-party fare, too -- maybe it's time we lighten up a little bit. Plus: Dragon Age is seemingly dead, Square Enix lives in perpetual fear of the potential scale of a Final Fantasy VI remake, Crazy Taxi: World Tour solicits players for closed tests, and more. Then: Listener inquiries! Why do so many people seem so hostile towards so-called "Gun and Ball" gamers? Is Sony's ever-struggling PlayStation Network ready for the crush it will experience with Grand Theft Auto VI? Does PS5 console exclusive Silent Hill: Townfall's approach to stealth and avoidant gameplay interest us? Will Dustin ever return to the show, or is he too busy going to Ohio to find physical games? Timestamps: Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00 - Intro11:58 - R.I.P. Sophie18:56 - R.I.P. Excalibur31:49 - Shoutout to gamer mom35:53 - Changing names41:22 - Dustin's been spotted in the wild43:26 - A rare correction51:39 - PSBlackout1:18:41 - God of War: Laufey launches on February 16th, 20271:26:22 - Reliable insider suggests Naughty Dog will release Intergalactic in 20271:36:40 - Marvel Tokon's PC test isn't going great1:42:38 - A Dragon Age trilogy re-release seems very unlikely1:51:02 - Yoshi-P says a Final Fantasy VI remake would require four or five parts1:58:17 - Crazy Taxi: World Tour gets a closed network test2:01:19 - Industry layoffs are accelerating2:09:47 - New PS+ Essential games revealed2:12:36 - Gran Turismo 7 gets a branded steering wheel2:15:56 - Surprise! Capcom continues to do great2:16:16 - What is Kingdom Come: Salvation?2:16:29 - Atari signs a 10-movie deal with Universal2:17:10 - Weird Trophies?2:20:23 - What We're Playing (Halo, Onimusha 2, Powerwash Simulator 2 DLC)2:57:38 - When was the last time a game took over your whole life?3:05:35 - Why is there so much animosity towards Ball-&-Gun gamers?3:20:40 - The physical games drama is getting old3:32:40 - Can the PSN infrastructure handle the GTA VI preload?3:35:35 - Is there no appetite for the PS6?3:45:00 - Silent Hill: Townfall hype level Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James W. Burley, APX Data Base/Report System James W. Burley is the programmer of Data Base/Report System, which was sold by Atari Program Exchange beginning with the Summer 1982 APX catalog. It was catalog number 20134 with a price of $22.95. APX sold it for about a year, through the Summer 1983 catalog. APX awarded Data Base/Report System first prize for new software in the "Business & Professional Applications/Personal Finance & Record Keeping" category: for that, James was awarded an Atari Star plaque and $2000 prize. (He received the plaque, but says he never received the money.) The software may have also been sold by Main Street Publishing. Here's what the APX catalog had to say: Data Base/Report System by James W. Burley Recommended for experienced data base users/Written in BASIC and machine language If you've ever used a data base manager on a large computer system, you'll appreciate the many features of DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM. This general-purpose system for ATARI 800 Home Computers creates and maintains records having up to ten units of information ("fields"), with a maximum field length of 100 characters and a maximum record length of 255 characters. The total number of records you can store varies with record key size, a key being the unique identifier for each record) and available computer memory. Generally, you can store about 1300 records having a five-character key on a system with 40K of memory. You use the main program to create a new file; add, update, and remove records; sort the file; and print reports. Auxiliary programs reorganize the data files to free unused diskette space; redefine the file by adding fields, modifying field sizes, or changing field headings; delete old files; and print special reports. ... These and other features make DATA BASE/REPORT SYSTEM a really versatile data base management system for your ATARI 800 Home Computer. REVIEW COMMENTS: You need some data base knowledge to use the program; it's a bit complex, but all the features are worthwhile. The print formatting and file reorganization features are very useful. The sort and search routines, written in assembly language, work quickly. In 1983, Antic magazine featured the program as one of the "Ten Best from APX". In 2024, Wade at the Inverse ATASCII podcast did a deep dive into Data Base/Report System: check the show notes for the link to that review, which includes dozens of screenshots, sample print output, and information about the database's file format. Wade gave the software a rating of 5 out of 8. As of this recording, the Atari community doesn't yet have a scan of the APX manual for Data Base/Report System: if you have a copy, let me know, or scan it and upload it to Internet Archive. The Main Street Publishing version — both disk and manual — are also not preserved. This interview took place on May 22, 2026. Data Base/Report System at AtariMania Data Base/Report System in the APX Summer 1982 APX catalog Antic Magazine - February 1983 - Ten Best from APX Inverse ATASCII reviews Data Base/Report System

Gulvan and Joe discuss the WOW Patch & in D&D, Doublefine layoffs, Atari signs Film deal, and Kratos replaced? Continue reading →

It's still Summer! God of War is back, the Resident Evil movie looks good, and Atari is making movies! Fun fact: Video Games! Subscribe and rate us via iTunes Subscribe on: Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora DISCORD LINK Watch us on TWITCH! RSS feed: http://sidequesting.podbean.com/feed Hosts: Dali, J.J., Zach, Taylor, Sam, Tom, Jonny, Tyler With Special Guest: No one this week SIDEQUESTING PATREON EXECUTIVES: Punkdefied SIDEQUESTING PATREON PRODUCERS: Cricket, Zero the Prototype, Exageneus, Jeff Grubb, Stefan Topics: Moss: The Forgotten Relic (Review) Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Resynced Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game (Review) Splatoon Raiders Review & Preview products supplied by publishers SnackQuesting: Nothing Music Intro: Zero The Prototype – Powerr Music Outro: N.I.M. – Choice Comments? Questions? Email us at: sidequesting @ gmail.com Image courtesy: Resident Evil

Jim Hill and Eric Hersey take listeners inside Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, an interactive look at how Universal Creative designs modern attractions. Along the way, they explore concept art, animatronics, coaster engineering, projection mapping, Halloween Horror Nights props, and development materials from Epic Universe. Jim and Eric also discuss the new Ozzy Osbourne Halloween Horror Nights houses, the noisy debut of Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift, Comcast's latest theme park results, and Universal's new Al Roker-led video series. NEWS • Halloween Horror Nights officially announces Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness houses for Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. • The two Ozzy Osbourne houses will feature different scenes, music, imagery, and interpretations of the rock icon's career. • Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift begins soft openings at Universal Studios Hollywood, reaching speeds of up to 72 miles per hour. • Nearby Toluca Lake residents and golfers report hearing screams from the new coaster beyond the park. • Universal explores potential movie adaptations based on classic Atari properties, including Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Pong, and Yars' Revenge. FEATURE • Jim and Eric tour Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. • The exhibition traces the attraction-development process from early blue-sky concepts to completed rides and themed environments. • Displays feature concept art, mood boards, scale models, ride vehicles, animatronics, projection technology, costumes, and Halloween Horror Nights artifacts. • Interactive stations allow guests to operate animatronics, design roller coasters, experiment with lighting, and create themed merchandise. • Epic Universe receives significant attention through materials connected to Dark Universe, the Ministry of Magic, and other new attractions. • The exhibition highlights the engineering, storytelling, technology, food, merchandise, and live entertainment behind Universal's theme parks. HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter and Instagram: @JimHillMedia - jimhillmedia.com • Eric Hersey - X/Twitter and Instagram: @erichersey - strongmindedagency.com FOLLOW • Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews • YouTube: @jimhillmedia • TikTok: @jimhillmedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR Plan your next Universal Orlando vacation with personalized concierge service from Be Our Guest Vacations. Their travel professionals can help arrange resort stays, theme park tickets, and special extras for your Universal adventure. Be sure to mention the Epic Universal Podcast sent you. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andy lives up to his name as we talk about Andy's Vegas adventures, conspiracy drinks at Velveteen Rabbit, DnD, pipe club, Pinball FX Midnight, Rabbit, Thursday Next, Lost in a Good Book, Hadestown, The Odyssey, Risk, Boston (the band), Fairy Voice Mother, Rick Beato, Pat Finnerty, Motor Coty, scorpions (not the band), pest control, Xbox ad tier, Atari movies, false imprisonment, Marvel in Hall H, Warhammer adds a name, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, Mr. Terrific, and Star Wars collectables. Cheers, It's time for a GeekShock!

Here's the Supporter-only Q&A from July 30th 2026. All comments and questions are fielded through the supporter service Q&A page.Please consider supporting this channel via monthly support services, tips, or even just by using our affiliate links to purchase things you were already going to buy anyway, at no extra cost to you:  https://www.retrorgb.com/support.htmlT-Shirts:  https://retrorgb.link/tshirtsAmazon Recommended List:  http://retrorgb.link/amazon TIMESTAMPS (please assume all links are affiliate / paid links that pay RetroRGB a commission on each sale.  Even if links are currently not affiliate, I may update them with one, should a partner list that item for sale in the future):00:00  Welcome!00:45  AES+ Output Info?:  https://retrorgb.com/new-official-neo-geo-aes.html 05:29  SMS to MK-2000 Converter:  https://retrorgb.com/sms.html08:42  RetroTINK plus Monitor BFI / Headphone Amp14:28  PVM + RetroTINK Setup, Dreamcast Video Issues20:11  SuperStation One Issues, VGA output, OLED Issues27:30  Cart setup for 12 consoles + CRT:  https://retrorgb.com/carts.html31:17  Genesis MiSTer Core Direct Video Issues32:52  Atari 7800 PSU34:14  Thank You:   https://www.retrorgb.com/support.html

-Physical media is making a comeback!: -https://www.gameshub.com/news/features/kazeta-pc-games-sd-card-cartridges-2889047/ -https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/pc-gaming/pc-gamer-turns-steam-games-into-cartridges-with-ingenious-2-5-inch-ssd-system-games-are-stored-on-128gb-drives-alongside-a-script-to-auto-start-the-title-once-plugged-in -Xbox official ports to PC: https://www.digitalfoundry.net/features/hands-on-with-xbox-back-compat-for-pc-a-new-initiative-that-begins-with-four-classic-games Jarron:  -Nvidia shows off more DLSS 5: Nvidia finally reveals what controls devs actually have for DLSS 5, and don't worry folks, there are TWO main sliders to control the AI filter -Bethesda announces games way too early for some reason? What could the reason be? Hmm. Bethesda confirms Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters, makes Obsidian collaboration official, and says Fallout 5 is in 'pre-production' -Kratos isn't a very tough god: God Of War TV series is recasting Kratos -Laufey coming out soon + new God of War game: Next Kratos-Led God of War Game Is Coming After Laufey, and Connects Directly to Her Story | Comic Con 2026 -Atari going big on movies for some reason: Atari signs 10-game deal with Universal for movies based on Pong, Breakout, Centipede, and yes, really, Pong Owen: -A new life for your old 2.5 SSD's. https://hackaday.com/2026/07/20/old-ssds-find-new-life-as-game-cartridges/ -We may not see DBrand's companion cube skin, but that won't stop the scrappy 3d printing community! https://steamdeckhq.com/news/we-make-steam-machine-companion-cube-case/?shem=dsdf,sharefoc,agadiscoversdl,,sh/x/discover/m1/4 https://www.printables.com/model/1784792-steam-machine-companion-cube-weighted-storage-cube/files Lando: -Do you think gamers care about specs? https://kotaku.com/shigeru-miyamoto-believes-gamers-have-grown-disinterested-in-hardware-specs-as-if-they-had-a-choice-2000719415

Dinosaurs: you love 'em. Tycoon games: you love 'em! Mash those two together, and you have a delightful peanut-butter-and-chocolate-like combination that is Parkasaurus. Under the bright and whimsical presentation lies a deep park builder with sci-fi twists and endless opportunities to build your dream Jurassic destination. While the title has been out for a few years on Switch and Steam, we partnered with Washbear Studio to bring the title to current-gen consoles with all DLC in tow. Joining me to discuss all things Parkasaurus are Washbear Studio co-founder Chris McQuinn and Atari producer Kay Bell. We go through the origins of the title, the many systems, and, of course, a quick round of trivia. YouTube: https://youtu.be/rE-gMTMfOA4 Wishlist Parkasaurus on consoles or check it out on Steam now: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/591460/Parkasaurus/ Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/parkasaurus-dinoluxe-edition-switch-2/ PS5: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10017988/ Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/parkasaurus-dinoluxe-edition/9NV849PXZM1S Join the Atari Club on Discord: https://discord.gg/atariclub Washbear: Discord: http://discord.gg/washbear X: https://x.com/washbearstudio Atari: X: https://x.com/atari BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/atari.com Kay Bell: https://x.com/deersten Jason Polansky: https://bsky.app/profile/jaysofdoom.bsky.social

The boys talk about #Doomsdaytrailer #MarvelgotoCaliforna and #Atari moving to the movie business. Also #Lanterns, #Reacher. The awesome anime show #Chairsmokercat. Plus many more

We take a look at the biggest news from San Diego Comic Con on this week's Moviecast. Black Panther III, MCU Ghost Rider, Avengers: Doomsday, and DC's Lanterns all share news. Meanwhile, Atari licenses out a bunch of its franchises for film adaptations, there's a secret animated Spawn movie, a Dungeons and Dragons sequel is in the works, and a new G.I. Joe movie is also coming soon. Plus we look at some potentially huge box office numbers for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. #sdcc #spidermanbrandnewday #⁠avengersdoomsday #gijoe #dungeonsanddragons #blackpanther3 #ghostrider #marvel #mcu #dc #atarimovies #film #tv #xmen97 #streaming

Can AI make you better at Photoshop instead of replacing Photoshop? Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar explore that question on AwesomeCast 789 as Sorg shares a workflow for turning AI-generated concepts into editable graphics while keeping control of the final design. The crew also gets into Pittsburgh technology history with plans to preserve Westinghouse's Atom Smasher, the impressive Commercial Street Bridge replacement, and the accessibility origins of the modern audiobook. Then the geekery kicks into high gear: Xbox expands its classic-game preservation efforts to PC, Hasbro combines Transformers with Jem and the Holograms, LEGO brings Smart Play to Star Trek, Robosen releases an Optimus Prime robot designed to reopen childhood wounds, and Universal plans movies based on ten Atari properties. Plus, Chachi has gaming headlines involving Hasbro, Steam Deck and Atari, and the crew discusses the backlash surrounding a $58,000 humanoid robot proposed for use in a New York school district. It's Pittsburgh technology, AI creativity, retro gaming, accessibility, robots and pop-culture nostalgia on AwesomeCast 789.

This week! Greg's back from an F1 pilgrimage to Spa, the Video Game History Foundation digs up a trove of E3 archives, Xbox tries ad-supported streaming and original Xbox games on PC, Atari signs a 10-franchise movie deal with Universal, and the LEGO Donkey Kong set goes up for pre-order. Plus: Splatoon Raiders (is awesome), F1 25's Breaking Point, Final Fight, and much, much more. Join us, won't you? https://youtube.com/live/6BBpBrPIhDM News VGHF E3 archive Xbox is testing ad-supported game streaming Some OG Xbox games come to PC Atari movie deal DK LEGO Steve Wiebe promo What'cha Been Playing Splatoon Raiders (CJ) F1 25 (Greg) Final Fight (Greg) LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (Greg) Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (CJ) Socials Greg's Twitch Show's Twitch Greg's Patreon Show's Blue Sky Show's YouTube Show's Facebook Check out Greg's web series Generation 16 - click here. Thanks for listening! Don't forget to visit our new web site at www.playeronepodcast.com. Running time: 01:25:46

Jeff and Christian welcome Sean Capri from Carpool Gaming to the show this week to discuss an early '27 release for God of War Laufey, a delay for Tomb Raider into the "no physical media" zone, and ten Atari classics that could become movies.The Playlist:Sean: Pragmata, Splatoon Raiders, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Christian: Splatoon Raiders Jeff: Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, Slumber RealmParting Gifts!

Dzisiejszy odcinek sponsorują różne legalne serwisy newsowe i inne. Więc nie ma co tu szukać sensacji. Mamy wszystko poukładane i skatalogowane i nic, tylko brać i słuchać! I TO JUŻ! RAZ! RAZ! Póki gorący i świeżusi odcineczek! Mówimy (my: Tomasz Pstrągowski, Dominik Gąska i ja) dzisiaj (w tym odcinku) o tym, co Shawn Layden myśli […]

¡Bienvenidos a un nuevo Nerd News de La Cueva del Nerd! La San Diego Comic-Con 2026 nos dejó una auténtica avalancha de anuncios y en este episodio repasamos las noticias más importantes del mundo geek. Comentamos los nuevos tráilers de 'Avengers: Doomsday', 'Clayface', 'Lanterns' y 'Matchbox: la película', además de todas las sorpresas que llegaron desde el legendario Hall H. También analizamos los grandes anuncios de Marvel Studios, incluyendo la llegada de Ryan Gosling como Ghost Rider, el nuevo póster de 'Avengers: Doomsday', la aparición de Ryan Reynolds, la confirmación de 'Black Panther III' con T'Challa Jr. y el papel que tendrán los mutantes con 'Maximum X-Men'. Además, hablamos de: El estreno confirmado de 'Blade Runner 2099'. El primer adelanto de la temporada 3 de 'El Señor de los Anillos: Los Anillos de Poder'. La renovación de 'Interview With the Vampire' para una cuarta temporada basada en 'Queen of the Damned'. El anuncio de 'Batman of Two Worlds'. Los ganadores de los Premios Eisner 2026. El esperado panel de 'Spaceballs 2'. El impresionante Ecto-1 de 'The Real Ghostbusters' presentado por Mondo. Las nuevas películas de videojuegos clásicos que preparan Atari y Universal. Las novedades de AniMole 4, con fechas e invitados. La colaboración entre New Era, Spider-Man y los Diablos Rojos del México. El regreso de He-Man con 'Amos del Universo' en Prime Video. El fin del rodaje de la tercera temporada de 'Daredevil: Born Again'. La actriz que dará voz a Princess Donut en la adaptación de 'Dungeon Crawler Carl'. Y el retraso del juicio que mantiene en pausa la fusión entre Paramount y Warner Bros. Discovery. Cuéntanos en los comentarios cuál fue tu anuncio favorito de la Comic-Con 2026. Si disfrutaste este episodio, no olvides darle like, suscribirte y activar la campana para no perderte las últimas noticias, reseñas y cobertura del mundo geek. #ComicCon2026 #Marvel #DC #NerdNews #LaCuevadelNerd #SDCC2026 #GhostRider #AvengersDoomsday #Batman #HeMan

Head over to http://patreon.com/kindafunny this month to grab a membership and receive exclusive content and ad-free episodes! 00:00:00 - Start00:05:03 - Sony's Nightmare Month Gets Worse as PlayStation Network Goes Down — Leaving Fans Unable to Play Digital Games Just Weeks After Killing Disc Controversy Erupted - Tom Philips @ IGN00:25:30 - Kingdom Come Salvation trademark filed in the EU - Dave Aubrey @ VGC00:29:37 - Ad00:30:55 - Tomb Raider: Catalyst Delay to 2028 Confirmed by Amazon Games Boss - Wesley Yin-Poole @ IGN00:36:25 - Marvel's Wolverine got a new Story Trailer, let's live react00:43:10 - Even Pong is getting a live-action adaptation as Atari and Universal Pictures sign deal to make 10 movies based on some weird classic games - Lauren Milci @ Games Radar00:51:00 - Wee News!00:54:40 - SuperChats & You‘re Wrong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marvel is on fire with the release of Avengers: Doomsday! But where is the DC Universe? Chris Gore and Alan Ng offer their takes on all the news and announcements from San Diego Comic-Con. Plus reviews of Motor City and more. Hilarity ensues. 0:00 Intro 8:45 Johnny Depp at San Diego Comic-Con 10:43 Ebenezer Trailer Reaction 14:27 Resident Evil Trailer Reaction 21:37 Coyote Vs. ACME Trailer reaction 28:45 Atari and Universal Make Movie Deal 34:19 The Future of Star Trek on TV 44:33 LA Filming Continues to Tumble 52:17 Comments From Chat 1:02:47 Gore Rant on The Odyssey 1:08:55 Motor City Review 1:16:00 Final Comments 1:20:51 Outro Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good Morning BT with Bo Thompson and Beth Troutman | Friday, July 24th, 2026. 6:05 Beth’s Song of the Day 6:20 Guest: Theresa Payton (Cyber Security Expert) - The Future of A.I. | Open A.I. Incident | Chick-fil-a cyber attack 6:35 Stats show fewer people moving to Charlotte 6:50 RAM Biz Update; Top 10 potential Atari themed movies | Long live "memaw" 7:05 The Bernie Fife Contest...The Mouth Flute For Those Who Can't Preview 7:20 Guest: Congressman Mark Harris - Thoughts on War in Iran 7:35 Congressman Mark Harris - Funding bill latest 7:50 Tell Me Something Good 8:05 Tell Me Something Good Cont. 8:20 The Sports Corner with Jim Szoke - Nic Scourton torn ACL | Panthers announce Stadium renovations 8:35 Friday News Quiz with Mark Garrison 8:50 Replay: Theresa Payton 9:05 Guest: John Hancock 9:20 John Hancock cont. - Best Nachos in Charlotte? 9:35 Big Weekend with John Hancock 9:50 Show wrapSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a time to DRIVE A FREAKIN' TRAIN this week on the RETURNING ARG Presents. Join THE BRENT and Amigo Aaron as they steam HEAD ON with these game selections - Densha De Go! for the Gameboy Color and Train Simulator Classic for the PC! ALL ABOARD!!!

Tim Jenkins, Cheating at Roulette with an Atari Computer Tim Jenkins is the author of several humorous memoirs: "Missions Accomplished: And some funny business along the way", "More Missions Accomplished: And a lot more funny business", and "Business Missions Accomplished: Silly travel tales on the corporate dime". I wanted to talk to Tim about one chapter in his 2018 book More Missions Accomplished: the chapter is titled "Gaming the System" and it tells the tale of him trying to cheat a roulette using his Atari 800 computer. A brief excerpt from that chapter: "Las Vegas — 1989. Shortly after the dawn of the personal computer revolution, opportunity beckoned. Some people wrote software and sold it over retail counters. Others launched services that harnessed the databasing and processing power of the PC to help people find a job, a date, or other people with the same interests. I put my own Atari 800 computer to work simulating roulette. ... If you kept increasing your bet every time you lost a spin of the wheel, eventually your number would come up: The question was, would you earn back all the money you'd previously lost and make a profit? Yes. That is, you would if you did not first run into the table limit. ...  How to get there without hitting the max bet? That's what I set out to simulate on my Atari computer. ... The program showed this to be a winning strategy, if perfectly executed." This interview took place on May 22, 2025. More Missions Accomplished at amazon: https://amzn.to/446MrVP At Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moremissionsacco0000timj/page/138/mode/2up Video version of this interview: https://youtu.be/EW-pDXlBDQg

Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. Any good miniseries must include the best game of that genre, so let's discuss Dave Theurer's gorgeous vector Atari game, Tempest. If Tempest was a steak what cut would it be? Why does this episode leave Rob breathless? Was the Cranberries Doors and Windows the best video game of 1995? Did Tempest birth the most popular arcade-based urban legend? We answer your most pressing questions like, have we played Arcade Paradise or similar arcade operator simulators, what's our advice on staying cool, and would we rather be paid $1 million or earn $1,000 for every hotdog we eat. Join the Podouken Discord and ask your own questions that could be included in a future episode: discord.gg/k5vf2Jz You can also like, comment, and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we post content like the new Rankdouken episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@podoukenpodcast2716.

This week we talk about Sony, Nintendo, and the Playstation.We also discuss Grand Theft Auto, the 3DO, and digital dark ages.Recommended Book: 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John ScalziTranscriptThe earliest video game consoles that were made to be used in the home, as opposed to being set up in an arcade, were hardwired like their arcade kin. That means rather than being able to play a bunch of different games, they were basically just single-game boxes: you would buy a machine that allowed you to play Pong, for instance, and if you wanted to play another game, even by the same maker, Atari, you would have to buy another whole console with its own screen, controls, etc, to do so.That was the state of the art in the early to mid 1970s. By the late-70s, the concept of swappable games became reality with the introduction of what are called ROM cartridges. ROM stands for read-only memory and is a type of storage common in computers and other devices, which allows whatever you store on it to persist, which is a contrast to RAM, which is the type of memory that determines how much you can do on a device at any given moment, and which disappears when the device is turned off.So these ROM cartridges were kind of like the portion of the hard drive that's used to boot up your computer, storing the bare-basics of the system so it can be initialized and understand how to run all the other software that builds upon that baseline. And that memory was stored in durable, plastic cases that made them usable by ordinary, non-techy people. You could buy a game and handle the cartridge, popping it into your game console hardware and removing it, to make way for another game, over and over and over again, and that use would be unlikely to damage the ROM chip.This same general format was flexible enough that it lasted through the mid-90s, the capacity of the ROM chip continuing to grow as the associated tech improved, and the capabilities of the central console hardware that used these cartridges became more sophisticated. Upgrades were slowly added to the innards of the plastic case, as well, including things like battery backups that enabled saved games, and the Super Nintendo's Super FX chip, which enabled 3D graphics that would have otherwise been impossible with the contemporary state of the art.The next generation of gaming consoles relied on another medium, though, and one that had several benefits over the long-lived game cartridge.CD-ROM discs, which were flat, circular, and contained information that was encoded and read with lasers, had been around in some form since the late-1980s, and were even used in a few early gaming consoles, like the PC Engine CD-ROM, which barely anyone bought, and the Sega-CD add-on for the Sega Genesis, and 3DO consoles, which a few more, but still relatively few people purchased.The release of the first Sony Playstation, now known as the PS1, in 1994 changed that, though, and this shift was partially the result of Sony's impressive game lineup, but was also due to the strength of the CD medium. Each CD-ROM could hold 650-700 MB of information, which was more than 100-times the capacity of the competing Nintendo 64's cartridges.There were downsides to this new standard; CD-ROMs were less durable than plastic-encased cartridges, and they were very slow to load, as well, because information stored in ROM chips could be more or less instantly booted, while the info stored on discs had to be spun up and read first, resulting in sluggish load screens throughout the gaming experience, and especially on the initial boot-up of the system.That said, the far superior storage, and the dramatically reduced cost of these laser-etched discs—cartridges could cost $15-20 apiece to manufacture, while CD-ROMs often cost pennies apiece—that triggered a rapid transition in the gaming world to this new medium. Handheld consoles stuck with cartridges for a lot longer, due to the nature of the use-case and difficulties associated with trying to use spinning discs in portable hardware, but everyone else moved to discs pretty rapidly, after Sony proved the utility of the model, and many aspects of video gaming were upgraded as a result of all that additional storage capacity.That capacity continued to grow as CD-ROM were replaced with DVDs, which could hold 4.7-8.5 GB per disc, again, up from 650-700 MB; the industry made that change in the years 2000 and 2001, with the PS2 and Xbox consoles. And then in 2006, the PS3 moved to Blu-ray discs, which could hold a whopping 25-50 GB per disc, once again resetting gaming expectations—though Xbox stuck with DVDs, and Nintendo's Wii, Wii U, and Gamecube consoles used proprietary disc formats that had a lot lower capacity compared to their competition.Leading into the 2010s, even those Blu-rays were straining under the weight of some big-name, AAA games, some of which required multiple discs and mandatory hard drive installs from those discs, because the scope of these gaming worlds and their high-end graphics required just a stunning amount of space.Video game companies had already started making the shift to digital products in the early 2000s, though, Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Store emerging in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and Steam, which popped up in 2003, was making digital downloads for games common on PCs several years earlier.Digital became even more popular in the 20-teens, and in 2020, digital sales of console games surpassed physical sales for the first time. The PS5 and Xbox Series S shipped console versions without disc drives for the first time, and many physical games became basically methods of checking a game's license, to ensure it's not pirated, because the discs installed the game on the console's hard drive, just like a download, anyway.What I'd like to talk about today is the perhaps natural next step in this transition: a recent announcement by Sony that they'll no longer be making disc-based Playstation games beginning in 2028, and why some critics are calling this a worrying and anti-consumer move.—On July 1, 2026, Sony announced that's it's going all-in on digitally delivered games. It will halt production of game discs beginning in January of 2028, and after that, customers will only be able to purchase new games digitally, via their Playstation Store and retailers.This follows another recent announcement by game company Rockstar Games that their massively anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI game, which is set to hit digital shelves on November 19 of this year, will not be available on disc at all; it will be downloadable, and the physical copies customers can buy in stores won't be physical copies at all: it will be a box with a download code inside, which amounts to the same thing—you use the code to download the game, exactly the same as if you had bought it online, but with packaging for that code.That's a big deal because the Grand Theft Auto series is one of the biggest and most popular series in gaming history; other game makers have been scrambling to adjust their own release dates so as not to overlap with this new, highly anticipated game's release; it's expected to be an absolutely massive moment in the gaming world when this new entry in the series finally lands.That said, the writing has been on the wall for the transition to digital games for a while, now. Game company Capcom recently announced that 93% of its game sales were digital in its last fiscal year, and other companies have reported similar numbers; it's currently around 85% for Sony. As a result, many consoles are now shipping models without disc drives, and some, like the recently announced Steam Machine, don't even have a disc-drive version.Digital games are also cheaper to make because the company behind them only has to provide download keys, rather than having to pay some amount for each and every physical item produced, packaged, and shipped, and these companies, and the retailers that sell their games, will never run out of a popular game, which might otherwise be an issue for big released like the aforementioned Grand Theft Auto.There are quite a few downsides to the digitization of games, though, including that in many cases, you don't actually own the games you buy, you just own a license to download and play them. That means if licensing changes, or the storefront through which you bought a game closes, you will likely lose access to that game you bought, without getting any kind of refund.If your account is banned or you lose access to your account for some reason, all your games will suddenly be inaccessible, too. If you don't have access to the internet, allowing your console to phone home and check to make sure you're not pirating things on a regular basis, that might also mean no gaming for you.Almost always, you can't sell or trade digital games, while physical games allow for a thriving secondary market, often allowing gamers to buy old discs and cartridges decades after a game was released, and often for far lower prices. Many of these games can even be played by later consoles that have back-compatibility.Doing away with discs and other physical media is great for companies like Sony, then, because they no longer have to pay to create the individual discs, no longer have to pay for the drives that play the discs, so the price of making consoles drops a bit, and it also means that secondary market for games goes away: if you want to play old games, you have to buy them from Sony, and all those used games already on the secondary market, or a game disc borrowed from a friend, are no longer competition for them, serving as alternatives to the digital version they'd prefer to sell you.Another bigger-picture concern here, though, is that this will make game preservation efforts a lot more difficult, and for many of the same reasons it will make maintaining a library and back-catalog of games difficult for consumers.Often, when a video game store shuts down, either for economic reasons or because it sells content for devices that are no longer maintained, those games and other content also go away. Sometimes they can remain on those older devices, and sometimes the digital rights management software, the DRM in that content and on those devices auto-deletes games from the hardware.Right now, for instance, Sony is saying that after it halts digital sales of PS3 and Vita games, that halting taking place over the next year, players will still be able to download their previously purchased content for the foreseeable future. That ‘foreseeable future' phrasing is doing a lot of work, there, though, and historically this kind of shut down has eventually become a full shut down, a lot of games, those that haven't been carried over to new stores to be played as vintage options on newer consoles, have simply disappeared; maybe still existing on some old hardware somewhere, if it wasn't deleted by DRM, but maybe not. In either case, preserving that software for historic research and archiving purposes becomes very difficult and expensive, at least compared to archiving the same game on a disc or cartridge.That closure of the PS3 and Vita stores, for example, is expected to result in the loss of about 2,200 digital-only games that will no longer be available for purchase, and of those, about 138 are not available on any other platform, and will thus essentially disappear.This game industry concern echoes larger concerns about what's called a digital dark age: a moment in time, maybe just a few years, maybe a few decades long during which a whole lot of the content that was created and available, disappears, possibly because of outdated file formats, maybe because the storage mediums that were used didn't hold up over time, or possibly because the data from the era was somehow corrupted, encrypted, or decayed.There's concern that a whole lot of information from the early personal computing era will disappear from historical records, for instance, because the floppy disks on which a lot of that information was stored are obsolete and thus increasingly difficult to access; few people have hardware that allows them to use floppy disks, these days.CD-ROMs, DVDs, and other optical discs are also a concern because of so-called disc rot, which refers to the chemical degradation of this storage medium. Many such discs are prone to failure because of light damage, the oxidation of their reflective layer, and the de-bonding of the adhesive that was used to hold the disc's multiple layers together.A lot of seemingly archival media might then degrade, even after being stored in a seemingly long-term fashion, which could also contribute to a dark age moment, a whole period's worth of data and entertainment and art lost because the CDs and DVDs on which they were stored simply fell apart before they could be converted to a longer-form medium. This could serve as an argument in favor of digitization, then, because many of the mediums on which these games are currently stored might degrade, anyway, and moving them to hard drives, rather than discs, could serve as a superior long-term home.That said, the concern with digitizing everything is similar, in that media made available for online purchase is simply stored in a hard drive somewhere else on the planet. If something happens to the data centers in which these games are stored, or those data centers are needed for another, more profitable purpose, or a bunch of them are destroyed in a conflict, that could result in the same outcome as disc rot and the storage of data in formats that are no longer accessible.It also makes these games susceptible to economics, though, because if the company behind them decides it's time to move on, there won't be physical copies archivists can scoop up and save; they could try to download these games, but often the nature of the software, of the DRM that keeps them from being pirated, hinders or prevents such efforts.The digitization of gaming and the shift away from physical copies of games seems to be inevitable at this point, and there are a lot of good economic, technological, and convenience reasons for it.There are quite a few downsides to this evolution as well, though, including those that negatively impact game consumers, alongside many of the same issues that threaten other types of media and data. And we don't, technologically or civilizationally, have solutions for those problems yet. And that gap could someday result in massive gulfs in our knowledge and documentation of this moment in video gaming history.Show Noteshttps://blog.archive.org/2026/04/23/gone-but-not-forgotten-recovering-the-dead-web/https://www.engadget.com/2207297/playstation-just-struck-a-hammer-blow-to-game-preservation/https://www.engadget.com/forza-horizon-4-will-be-pulled-from-digital-stores-and-game-pass-in-december-134510642.htmlhttps://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/03/why-game-archivists-are-dreading-this-months-3ds-wii-u-eshop-shutdown/https://www.engadget.com/2205792/sony-will-stop-making-disc-based-playstation-games-starting-2028/https://www.engadget.com/2207546/sony-repurposing-austrian-playstation-disc-factory/https://www.engadget.com/2206315/xbox-is-reportedly-testing-a-way-to-digitize-your-disc-based-games/https://www.engadget.com/2205792/sony-will-stop-making-disc-based-playstation-games-starting-2028/https://www.theverge.com/report/960173/microsoft-xbox-disc-to-digital-feature-physical-game-collectionhttps://www.theverge.com/games/956389/grand-theft-auto-6-gta-digital-code-in-box-physical-gameshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_dark_agehttps://longnow.org/ideas/shining-a-light-on-the-digital-dark-age/https://www.americanscientist.org/article/avoiding-a-digital-dark-agehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoleshttps://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/history-of-game-media/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Dies ist Folge 2 von 2. Folge 1 erschien vor einer Woche. Worum geht's? Nachdem der TI-99/4 endlich fertig entwickelt ist, muss er sich nun auf dem hart umkämpften Heimcomputermarkt beweisen – gegen Tandy, Atari und vor allem gegen Commodore. Henner und Chris erzählen, wie Texas Instruments seinen Rechner vermarktet, warum die Verpackung bewusst auf das technische Kürzel verzichtet und stattdessen groß „Home Computer“ verspricht, und wie sich der Nachfolger 99/4A entwickelt: mit besserer Tastatur, neuem Grafikmodus, aufgebohrter Sprite-Engine, aber auch gnadenlosem Rotstift bei Lautsprecher und Kopfhöreranschluss. Es geht um die Werbekampagne mit Bill Cosby, der in unzähligen Spots stets denselben Satz wiederholt: „This is the one.“ Um ein teures Rückrufproblem wegen potenziell gefährlicher Netzteile. Und um die immer verzweifeltere Suche nach Software für ein System, dessen exotische Prozessorarchitektur Entwicklerinnen und Entwickler eher abschreckt als einlädt – im Gegensatz etwa zum gut dokumentierten 6502 in Ataris Rechnern. Trotzdem entsteht nach und nach ein überraschend vielfältiges und teils hochwertiges Spieleangebot, nicht zuletzt dank der kreativen Freiheit, die TI seinen eigenen Entwicklerinnen und Entwicklern lässt, und dank externer Partner wie Milton Bradley mit ihrem kuriosen MBX-Erweiterungssystem. Am Ende dreht sich alles um den ruinösen Preiskampf mit Commodore, der TI schließlich einen Quartalsverlust von 100 Millionen Dollar beschert und die Aktie einbrechen lässt. Noch auf der Sommer-CES 1983 kündigt TI mit dem winzigen TI-99/2 und einem neuen Topmodell einen Neuanfang an – doch beide Projekte werden nie veröffentlicht. Stattdessen zieht sich Texas Instruments im selben Jahr komplett aus dem Heimcomputergeschäft zurück und verramscht die Restbestände für 50 Dollar das Stück. Was bleibt, sind rund 2,8 Millionen verkaufte Geräte weltweit – und ein paar Chips wie der Soundbaustein SN76489, die in vielen anderen Systemen noch lange weiterleben. Produktions-Credits: Sprecher, Redaktion: Henner Thomsen, Christian Schmidt Audioproduktion: Johannes DuBois, Christian Schmidt Titelgrafik: Johannes DuBois Vielen Dank an Karl Guttag und Paul Urbanus.